14 Days in the Life of My Family by Hotaru Tomoe
by LokiLeysmith
Summary: House guests, weddings, prank calls, and death cults? Say, what? Yes it's another 'average' two weeks in the life of Hotaru and her family.
1. Chapter 1

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe,**

**Chapter One: Introduction. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters. **

Hotaru stood there silently and glared across the expanse at her most hated enemy.

The enemy, for its part, just sat there in the semi-darkness, and stared back at her with its large, single, unblinking eye. She could hear it calling to her, pleading with her, mocking her.

She wished nothing more than to destroy her foe, completely and utterly. Nothing in the world would have given her more pleasure. All it would take was three simple words and a sweep of her mighty Silence Glaive. Granted the damage to the local area would be severe indeed, but it would be worth it.

Finally though, Hotaru broke the impasse with a sigh of resignation. She finally admitted that her foe had beaten her. With a grunt of annoyance, she sat heavily in her chair and allowed the beast, her computer, to have its way with her as she reluctantly turned it on. Besides, she realized, the damage inflicted to her home and the surrounding neighborhood would really piss off her parents. They had just had the siding replaced.

Hotaru's eyes narrowed as her computer booted up. _There is just no pleasing some people. _She thought as she rubbed her temples in irritation. Grumbling, she turned on her word processing program and stared at the blank page in irritation. With an audible groan, she let her head fall forward and bang against the desktop. A sound that didn't go unnoticed as someone knocked on her door a moment later.

"Are you all right Hime-chan?" Michiru asked in concern.

"I'm fine Mama." Hotaru replied, not looking up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay. Thanks Mama." Hotaru replied as she sat up and took a sip of water. She heard Michiru head downstairs and so, with a bit of reluctance, she began to type.

_Hotaru's P.O.V._

**Fourteen Days with my Family. A report by Hotaru Tomoe. **

Well, now I know what the phrase 'there's no such thing as a free lunch' means now.

My teacher, Mr. Takimoto, heard about my report that I did last year on an average seven days with my family, and was so impressed that he decided that I, and the rest of the class, should write a new report for this year. This time though we were asked to write about a two week period instead of just one. Aarrgh.

He talked to Miss Haruna, who had assigned the project last year, and both of them agreed that they would like to see me try and top last year's report. They didn't tell me this outright of course, but they implied it strongly enough. I have come to the conclusion that teachers really do conspire together to make their students lives miserable.

This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that I, Hotaru Tomoe, am one of the legendary Sailor Senshi, Sailor Saturn, and that my parents and my extended family, are also Sailor Senshi. Suffice it to say, our lives are anything but average, much as we would like our lives to be. Anything and everything seems to happen to us when we least expect it.

So right now I am praying that nothing major happens to us for the next two weeks. No robberies to foil, no yomas using me as a football, no alien invasions, nothing like that, please? I just want a quiet, normal two weeks with my family this time.

At this time, allow me to introduce my parents. As you know, I'm adopted as my Mama and Papa both have passed on. And all three of my adoptive parents are women.

Haruka-papa, Haruka Tenoh, Sailor Uranus. She is the famous F-1 racecar driver, pianist and all round athlete. That's right, she. She is a bit of a wild tomboy at times, not to mention having a weird sense of humor, but she is still my loving and warm 'papa'.

Michiru-mama, Michiru Kaioh, Sailor Neptune. She's a painter and a concert violinist. A lot of people have compared her to a Princess, regal and classy. Someone else (name withheld by request, okay Papa?) described her as a combination of June Cleaver, Martha Stewart, Mozart, Michelangelo, and a mama grizzly bear. To me she is very warm, loving, supportive, and very protective.

Setsuna-mama, Setsuna Meioh, Sailor Pluto. She is an up and coming fashion designer (she recently got a job at a local fashion shop). She's been called aloof, mysterious, and even cold at times, but she is really very shy, sweet, and caring once people get to know her. She can be very serious at times, but she has her fun moments as well.

I'll be introducing my extended family fairly soon, as they play such an important role in my life, and I'm sure that they'll be playing a prominent role in this report as well.

Oh yes, just so that there is no misunderstanding, Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama are lovers. Not cousins, brother and sister, casual acquaintances, but lovers. Neither I Setsuna-mama nor any of our extended family has a problem with it. If you do, well that's your problem. Deal with it.

In closing, as I said before, I would really like for my family and I to have as normal and quiet two weeks as possible. So, for now, I'll stop tempting fate and start my report on Sunday.

_End of Hotaru's P.O.V._

Hotaru let out a deep sigh as she began to spell check her report. While she hoped that she would get another A, she was really hoping that the next two weeks would pass by fairly uneventfully. She doubted it would happen, but she remained optimistic. At least there was the wedding to look forward to. Just then, someone knocked on her door again.

"It's open." She called.

"Dinner's ready Hime-chan." Michiru replied as she walked into the room, a warm smile on her face.

"Thanks Mama. Are Papa and Mama Home yet?" Hotaru asked.

"Yes they are." Michiru replied. "Haruka wanted to come up here and say hi, but I told her that you were busy doing homework. What are you working on anyway?"

Hotaru reluctantly moved aside and allowed Michiru to examine the report on her screen. "Another report like last years?" Michiru asked. Hotaru nodded. "That's wonderful! I hope that it is as exciting as last years!" She exclaimed.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Hotaru replied morosely. Michiru laughed and hugged her daughter.

"You will be making an edited report for school while the real one stays between us like last year, right?" Michiru asked.

"Yes I will, don't worry." Hotaru assured her as she finished up and saved her report before shutting the computer down. She was beginning to think that it wouldn't be so bad after all. She stood up with a smile and hugged her mama.

Michiru kissed her on the forehead and told her to go wash up. "Hurry before your papa eats everything."

Hotaru laughed. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute or so." She washed her hands and then joined her family for dinner like millions of people all around the world were doing.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a bright golden light flared briefly just on the outskirts of Tokyo and a mysterious figure made its way into the city.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Two: Sunday I.**

Today was the first sign that the next two weeks were going to be anything but quiet and peaceful. You would think I'd know by now.

We had gotten up at around 8:30 AM or so, well at least Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, and I did, Setsuna-mama, as usual, tried to sleep in. And as usual Haruka-papa didn't let her. After breakfast, the four of us sat down in the living room to discuss our plans for this week.

As it turns out, we have a pretty busy week planned. We have a wedding to go to next Sunday, Kimyo's birthday party on Thursday, and Minako's Karaoke bit on Saturday, so it's a full week so far.

"Well, you could come with us to my recording session on Tuesday." Michiru-mama suggested. She had started recording her latest CD a few weeks ago.

"That would be fun. Maybe they'll even allow you to play your violin with us as well. Make it our first album together as a family." Haruka-papa added.

"Yes, that would be wonderful! Recording your debut with us, wouldn't that look good in your report?" Michiru-mama asked. I had to agree Mama and Papa were encouraging me more and more to perform in front of larger crowds. In fact I had won a big city-wide competition a few months ago.

"Yeah, that would be great! Let's do it." I told them. Both of them grinned and hugged me.

"That's the spirit Hime-chan." Setsuna-mama said as she hugged me. It was too bad that she didn't play music very well, but recently she's been trying to, if that DVD on how to play the guitar that she bought that she thinks we don't know about is any indication.

"Okay, that covers most of this week, now what about the rest of the week? Not to mention next week?" Michiru-mama asked as she made a few notations in her day planner.

"Well, Minako was telling me about this fan club she wanted to investigate and…" I was cut off by our communicators going off. _Oh great! _I thought. _It's started already. _I tried to remember where the First Aid kit was.

"Good morning! Tenoh's House of Pleasure. How may we please you today?" Haruka-papa answered with a grin on her face as we stared at her in shock. Michiru-mama swatted her with a pillow as I looked at my communicator's screen to see a very red-faced Ami staring back at me.

"Ah, hi Ami, are you all right?" Setsuna-mama asked in concern as she glowered at Papa. "What's going on?"

Ami took a few moments to regain her composure, but she was still a bit red in the face as she replied. "Um, hello, I think (cough). Ah, could all of you come to Rei's temple please we have a bit of a problem." She said. We could hear several voices giggling in the background.

"What kind of a problem Ami? Is it a Yoma?" Michiru-mama asked in concern as the rest of us reached for our henshin wands.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. But it is a rather delicate problem, and we need your help right away." Ami replied.

"All right, we'll be there shortly Ami, bye." Papa switched off her communicator then sighed. "What are those crazy kids getting us involved in now?" She asked no one in particular as she stared up at the heavens.

"Who knows with Usagi and the others?" Michiru-mama replied, shrugging.

"Should we transform just to be on the safe side?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so." Setsuna-mama replied. "I didn't hear any explosions in the background, just a lot of giggling."

Papa sighed again. "You're right. Let's go see what they want this time. Remind me to stop at an ATM along the way though." Knowing Usagi and the others, we would end up going to the Crown as usual, and poor Papa would be stuck with the bill along with Mamoru, if he was there, as usual.

Since the next few minutes involve us driving to Rei's, let me take the time to introduce my extended family.

Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon): our leader, and our inspiration. She's a bit clumsy and a bit scatterbrained at times, although she's working on overcoming both, and she still talks about her Mamo-chan till I'm ready to jump out a window, but I still love her to death anyway. She's always there to cheer me up when I need it the most.

Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury): You've noticed that she gets easily flustered at overt sexual innuendo, but she is still the smartest person I know, not to mention one of the kindest. She's studying hard to be a Doctor, but would make a great teacher as well.

Rei Hino (Sailor Mars): She can get a bit temperamental at times, especially at Usagi, but she is at her heart, a warm, compassionate person. She is a Shinto Priestess, a formidable martial artist, and a talented singer/songwriter to boot.

Makoto Kino (Sailor Jupiter): Possibly the strongest person I know, except for Papa of course, but definitely the best cook. She wants to open her own restaurant soon, and is taking a business management course along with cooking classes. She's an incredible fighter and is usually the first one into the battle.

Minako Aino (Sailor Venus): She still can't get a proverb right to save her life, but if she did it just wouldn't be the same. She's a warm, fun loving person with a beautiful singing voice that aspires to be an idol singer.

We pulled up to the steps of the Hikawa Jinja and went up the stairs. I love coming here to Rei's shrine it's one of the few places I feel at peace. I also wondered a bit about Rei's Grandpa, the Head Priest of the shrine. He hasn't been well recently and it's had Rei worried sick. I hoped that he hadn't gotten any worse than the last time I saw him.

As if she were reading my mind, Michiru-mama put a hand on my shoulder and smiled reassuringly at me. "Don't worry. I'm sure Rei would let us know if something had happened to Grandpa Hino." I just smiled and nodded in agreement.

As we walked up to the temple itself, I could see that there were six familiar faces waiting for us, the sixth person being Mamoru.

Mamoru Chiba (Tuxedo Kamen): Usagi's Mamo-chan that I mentioned earlier. He's studying to be a scientist, and he's like a big brother to me. Privately we think that he's color blind, which is the only way we can explain why he always wears that awful green sports jacket he has on at the moment.

Whoops, I almost forgot two other important people, well, cats actually. Luna and Artemis are our advisors, trainers, and occasionally our conscience. Luna can be a bit bossy, while Artemis can be a bit thick, but they're ok. Although when they found out that they weren't even mentioned in my previous report I never heard the end of it.

"All right, what's the ruckus about this time?" Papa demanded impatiently. Did I mention that she can be a bit brusque at times, especially when there's a race on TV that she wants to watch? Yeesh Papa, most people just say 'hello'.

Ignoring, or more likely completely oblivious to Papa's tone, Usagi spoke up. "Rather than us trying to explain, we'll let our guest explain everything, all right?" She nodded to Luna and Artemis who bounded into the house.

"Guest?" Papa asked. Then her eyes widened. "Uh-uh! No way! If it's Seiya Kou, I'm out of here!" She declared angrily.

"Don't worry, it's not Seiya, or Yaten, or Taiki for that matter." Minako assured us. We're referring to a few old acquaintances of ours. You may have heard of them, they called themselves Three Lights. The short version of it is that Papa, Michiru-mama, and Setsuna-mama didn't get along with them at all. I still have their CD's hidden away somewhere. They seemed okay to me, mind you I was 10 at the time. But I digress.

"Then who the hell is…" Papa's voice trailed off as Luna and Artemis came out of the house with a young woman in tow. She was a beautiful woman, apparently in her mid 20's with reddish-blonde hair that flowed to her knees, and golden eyes. She was wearing a simple sky blue dress with short sleeves and a skirt that reached her ankles, and a pair of flats. The last time we saw her though, she wore a vastly different outfit.

I turned to see if Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, and Setsuna-mama recognized her as well. Judging by their shocked looks, I would say yes. Michiru-mama's mouth opened and closed like a fish's while all Setsuna-mama could manage was a strangled 'uh…' I looked up at Haruka-papa who wasn't much better. "Ga-Ga-Ga…" she stammered.

I swallowed hard and said; "Galaxia?" She turned and smiled at me and nodded.

"I was going to say that Hime-chan." Papa growled as she eyed Galaxia warily. I shook my head.

Galaxia stood there with her head cocked to one side, and a puzzled look on her face. It's a long story, but here's the Reader's Digest version. Galaxia was the most powerful Sailor Senshi in the universe. One day she defeated Chaos by imprisoning the entity within her own body. Chaos slowly took her over and she went around destroying planets and eliminating the other Senshi in the universe by taking their Star Seeds. She came to Earth and first sent out her minions to find more seeds and cause havoc. We defeated the minions, with some help, but she killed all of us except Usagi, who in turn defeated her, drove out Chaos, cured her, and brought us back to life. Confused yet? Good, that makes us even.

Setsuna-mama finally found her voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to look into a few affairs here on Earth and to visit all of you." Galaxia replied with a smile.

"What kind of affairs?" Papa demanded. I noticed with alarm that she had her henshin wand out. Galaxia noticed it as well.

"Be at peace Sailor Uranus. I mean you no harm. I am free of Chaos' influence thanks to your Princess." She looked over to Usagi who smiled and nodded in gratitude. "As to your question, a few of the Star Seeds no longer have homes to go back to, so I decided to leave them here on Earth under your observation."

"Who's Star Seeds?" Michiru-mama demanded suspiciously as she got her henshin wand out. Setsuna-mama stepped in between them.

"I think I know who she's talking about." Setsuna-mama said with a smile. Galaxia returned her smile. Michiru-mama reluctantly backed down while Papa eased up slightly. I, and the others, remembered to start breathing again. I attempted to change the subject.

"So, how long will you be here for?" I asked.

"Only for a short time I'm afraid." She replied. "I have already guided many of the Star Seeds home but many more have no homes to go back to." She looked at the ground in shame and I immediately felt sorry for her. "It has been a long, hard journey and I need to rest. If only for a short time."

"So you decided to come here? To Earth?" I asked incredulously.

"Exactly, little one." She smiled again and looked apologetic. "Well maybe not so little now. You've grown a bit since we last met I see." I had to admit that she was right. It had been 5 years since we had met, and I had grown up a lot since then.

"This leads us to our current problem she needs a place to stay for awhile." Ami stated, bringing us back to the present.

"We can put her up at our place, no problem." Michiru-mama replied enthusiastically. She really loves playing hostess, even to people who show up out of the blue. Literally in this case. It was a surprise to see her agree to let a former enemy stay at our house, but I guess Galaxia's words got to her as well. I agreed to it, as did Setsuna-mama. Haruka-papa on the other hand…

"Whoa! Hang on a minute! Since when did we become a hotel?" She demanded as she turned to Usagi and the others. "What about the rest of you? Why can't any of you take her in?"

"My Uncle, Mom's brother and his wife are coming to visit us for a few weeks." Usagi replied.

"Mom and Dad are renovating the kitchen." Minako said with an apologetic shrug.

"You know that Grandpa hasn't been well recently. And besides, you know all too well what he's like around pretty girls." Rei added. I cringed, as did my parents. Grandpa was well known for being a lecherous old coot. There are several magazine articles to prove it.

"I have no room in my apartment." Makoto stated simply.

"Ami?" Papa asked, sounding a bit desperate.

"Sorry, two of our cousins are coming from out of town to visit Mom and me." Ami replied. Papa's shoulders slumped even further as she turned towards Mamoru.

"Not with my Mamo-chan!" Usagi exclaimed as she glommed onto poor Mamoru's arm a bit too possessively. "I mean his apartment's too small." She added hastily.

Mamoru just shrugged and looked embarrassed. "Sorry." Papa looked totally defeated.

"Maybe I will go to a 'hotel' I believe you call them." Galaxia offered, but Michiru-mama wouldn't hear of it.

"Don't be silly!" She exclaimed as she went up to our former enemy and took her by the hand. "We just have to clean some stuff out of the guest room and put some clean sheets on the bed and you'll be all set." Galaxia smiled and agreed to come to our place.

"Do you have any luggage?" Setsuna-mama asked.

"No, all I came with is my armor and this dress." Galaxia replied, looking a little sheepish.

"Well then, I guess we have to go and do a little shopping today." Michiru-mama stated firmly. Setsuna-mama's eyes lit up at the prospect. Both of them love shopping and I love going with them. Haruka-papa, on the other hand, looked more dejected then ever.

"I'll be playing in traffic if anyone needs me." She said as she wandered off. Galaxia's eyes widened and Michiru-mama tried to reassure her.

"Don't worry about Haruka. Sometimes she has difficulty letting go of the past." Michiru-mama said.

"Well, given our history together, I cannot say that I blame her. It does not surprise me that she feels the way she does." Galaxia sighed, and I could see tears welling up in her eyes. "Perhaps this was a mistake. I will go and burden you no longer." She made like she was going to fly off but Usagi grabbed her arm.

"No, please stay." Usagi pleaded softly. "What happened all those years ago is behind us now. You finally have a bright future ahead of you and we can help you reach it. Haruka just needs to see that, and she will if you give her a chance." It always amazes me when Usagi can be such an airhead one moment, and suddenly show infinite wisdom the next. By her expression, Galaxia was surprised as well. Then she smiled and embraced Usagi.

"Thank you my friend and all of you as well." Galaxia said as she looked around at all of our smiling faces.

"Now that that's all settled, let's head home, we still have some serious shopping to do." Setsuna-mama stated as she looked at her watch and tapped her foot impatiently. It was the perfect tension breaker, and we all laughed as we said our farewells and me, my Mamas, and our new houseguest, headed for our car.

The four of us went downstairs to find Haruka-papa sulking behind the wheel of her car. She was obviously recalling some of the more terrible events of our last encounter with Galaxia, and her reappearance brought them all flooding back. Michiru-mama got into the front seat beside her and started to talk to her in a low voice that the rest of us couldn't hear. The three of us went over and sat down at the base of the steps so we wouldn't intrude as they argued.

"So, when did you arrive on Earth?" I asked Galaxia in an attempt to divert her attention.

"I arrived late last night, sometime." She replied. "I appeared just outside the city and reached out with my mind to find all of you. Rei was the closest one to where I arrived and so I came to the temple early this morning." She paused and blushed a bit. "I rather surprised Rei a lot as she was engrossed in her fire reading when I walked in. She was either going to attack me or have a heart attack, I was not sure which, but she calmed down after several minutes when I assured her that I was not a threat anymore. She even put one of her ofuda on me to make sure." Rei uses her ofuda to dispel evil spirits. "After that she called Usagi and the others and we called you.

"Well then, welcome to Earth, and hopefully like Usagi said, we can all put the past behind us and look towards a brighter future together." I told her.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me." Galaxia replied with a smile and a tear in her eye. Just then Papa honked the horn loudly to indicate that it was time to go. She always has perfect timing. Not.

"Well are we going or not?" Papa demanded impatiently. She was trying to be her usual gruff self but I could tell that she had been crying.

"Yes Haruka-papa, we're coming." Setsuna-mama and I said together as the three of us climbed into the back seat. Michiru-mama put a hand over her mouth and laughed politely, while Papa glared at us for a moment then laughed as well. Galaxia laughed a bit as well.

"How did you manage to get her to agree so quickly?" Setsuna-mama asked Michiru-mama. She looked at the funny smile on her face a little closer. "On second thought don't answer that, I can guess for myself." Michiru-mama just smiled.

"What do you mean by that?" Galaxia asked. Setsuna-mama leaned over and whispered something in her ear. "Oh!" She exclaimed as she blushed like Ami does.

"Well other than _that_, Michi also told me what koneko told you, and I agree with her." Papa said as she pointed to the top of the stairs where Usagi was standing, watching us. "So let's try to put the past behind us, all right?" She smiled and extended her hand.

"All right then." Galaxia took her hand and shook it.

"Now that that's all settled, let's go do some shopping." Papa said as she started the car. The rest of us cheered and waved to Usagi as we pulled away. Soon we were heading home at a brisk speed.

As we drove, Michiru-mama turned to Galaxia. "Um, Galaxia, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course you may." She replied.

"Do you have a real name?" Michiru-mama asked.

Galaxia hesitated a bit. "Well it doesn't translate well into your language."

"Humor us." Setsuna-mama replied. Galaxia shrugged and told us. I lost her at the 7th or 8th syllable.

"Um, ok…" Papa looked more than a bit confused as did the rest of us.

"Well I did say it didn't translate well." Galaxia shot back defensively.

"We can't exactly go around calling you Galaxia, and I doubt that anyone could remember your real name, much less pronounce it." Michiru-mama said. Just to prove her wrong, Setsuna-mama repeated Galaxia's name perfectly and sat back looking smug.

"No one likes a smart ass Setsuna." Papa growled. Setsuna-mama blew her a raspberry.

"Anyway, we'll give you an Earth name and tell anyone who asks that you're our cousin from, I don't know, Osaka I guess." Michiru-mama said. "Now, what do we call you?" We sat there pondering as we drove home.

"Emi?" Papa suggested. We shook our heads.

"Keiko?" Michiru-mama ventured. More head shaking.

"Trista?" Setsuna-mama tried. "What?" She demanded when we all stared at her.

"I like the name Hoshiko." I said. The name means 'star child' and it seemed appropriate.

"Hoshiko sounds like a nice name." Galaxia replied. My parents all smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Hoshiko it is then." Michiru-mama stated. "Welcome to Tokyo Hoshiko."

"Thank you my friends, it is good to be here." Hoshiko replied as Setsuna-mama and I each clasped one of her hands. She smiled and hugged both of us.

Soon we were home again, and between the 5 of us, we had the guest room cleaned up and ready in no time. Soon we were ready to have lunch and then go do some shopping. Before we left though, the phone rang and I answered it. "Hello?"

"I know your secret." A strange voice said like something out of a bad horror movie. I stared at the receiver for a moment before hanging up. The caller ID said 'unknown name'.

"Who was it Hime-chan?" Michiru-mama called from the kitchen.

"Nothing Mama, just a wrong number." I replied. I put it out of my mind as the five of us sat down for lunch before heading out again for an afternoon of sightseeing and shopping.

We came back with several days' worth of clothing for Hoshiko (and Setsuna-mama, and Michiru-mama, and me) along with a pile of other stuff like toiletries and cosmetics. She really didn't need a lot of this stuff, according to Papa anyway, but Michiru-mama insisted that it would help Hoshiko blend in better. Blend in at a fashion show I thought.

After we put our stuff away, we sat down to dinner and we discussed our plans for the week. Hoshiko was eager to learn more about Earth, and we were happy to show her around. We also told her about the report I was writing about the next two weeks, and my previous report. I gave her a copy of my first one for her to read.

"This looks like it was a very exciting time for you." Hoshiko remarked as she flipped through it.

"You have no idea how much fun it was living it." I replied as I remembered some of the more 'fun' events, like being kicked in the butt by the Centaur. We laughed a bit and she thanked me for the reading material. We sat and watched TV and talked some more before we turned in for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter III: Monday I.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters. **

Well, to say that today was an interesting day would be an understatement. The day started innocently enough (don't they always?) and ended rather oddly.

It was raining a fair bit outside when we woke up, but the guy on the radio said, while we ate breakfast, that it was going to be sunny this afternoon. Right, this is the same guy who claims that he always gets his predictions right. I joked that maybe I should go look up plans to build an ark on the Internet. Mama, Papa, and Mama all chuckled a bit, while Hoshiko looked puzzled.

"What is the Internet?" She asked.

Setsuna-mama smiled a bit and told her that the Internet was a means of accessing virtually any information we wanted on our computer via a modem that is hooked up to our telephone line in our case, or through the cable TV lines. It's a bit more technical than that I know, but hey, I'm not Ami. Hoshiko nodded in understanding.

"I have seen similar things on other worlds." She said.

"C'mon then, I'll show you how the Internet works." I said to her after breakfast was over. Setsuna-mama offered to help as well. Hoshiko smiled gamely and followed the two of us into our study while Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa stayed in the living room to practice for their recording session tomorrow.

I turned on the computer while Setsuna-mama got each of us a glass of juice. Mama explained some of the basics of how computers and the Internet worked while we waited. Hoshiko thought it was all rather quaint and said so. Neither Mama nor I could think of anything to say about that.

Anyway, we logged into the net and proceeded to show Hoshiko some of the stuff on our homepage like the news, weather, local movie times, and whatnot. Then we showed her how a search engine works and how to send and receive E-mail by sending a simple greeting to Ami.

Finally we moved onto some of our favorite sites. Setsuna-mama showed her sites for online shopping like and E-Bay, while I showed her some sites dedicated to a few of my favorite Anime shows and musicians.

Papa poked her head in at that moment and announced that Minako was on the phone. Setsuna-mama excused herself to go and talk to her while Hoshiko and I kept on surfing.

"Don't show our guest anything too naughty Hime-chan." Papa called before ducking out and closing the door behind her.

"Papa!" I shouted as I threw a pillow at her which bounced off the door. I heard her laugh all the way down the hall. Hoshiko just giggled a bit.

Hoshiko felt that she could navigate on her own, so I let her look at a few other sites that we had bookmarked. A few were some sites about auto racing (Papa), fashion (both Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama), physics (Setsuna-mama), Marine life (Michiru-mama), and a few Manga sites (mine). Hoshiko asked all sorts of questions that I tried to answer as best as I could. I could tell that she found it all incredibly fascinating and wanted to learn more, and I really wanted to teach her.

We then moved onto a few sites where we could watch movie trailers and music videos and the like. Hoshiko clicked on one name that made no sense to either of us and suddenly, the room was filled with a rhythmic thumping noise and a voice in English trying to rhyme to the beat.

"What is that awful noise?" Hoshiko cried as she covered her ears. I stifled a giggle as I reached over to turn off the awful noise.

"It's called 'Rap' music I believe. Some strange American phenomenon that has slowly been coming over here for awhile. I don't care much for it either." Setsuna-mama replied as she came back into the room and sat down. She looked a bit tired and confused, evidence that she had been speaking to Minako for several minutes.

"What other things can you find on the 'net' as you call it?" Hoshiko asked. I told her that you can find virtually anything you wanted, but you had to be fairly specific in your searches or you could be searching for a long time. There was also the danger, Setsuna-mama added, that you could find things that could harm your computer, like viruses for instance, and there was the problem of accessing stuff like pornography by accident.

"Are there not safeguards against that kind of thing?" Hoshiko asked.

We told her that there were safeguards, but unfortunately certain unscrupulous people tended to use the net for their own personal gain, regardless of the cost to others. Basically we told her that the net is a great tool for learning, but you have to be careful.

"I understand now. Thank you." Hoshiko said.

I changed the subject. "What did Minako want Mama?"

Setsuna-mama rolled her eyes. "Dear Lord, that girl can talk your ears off if she wanted to." She shook her head. "After going on about the, and I quote; 'hunky piece of meat redoing our kitchen', she said that she would be dropping by in a bit along with Usagi and Makoto. She mentioned something about fan clubs as well." She added with a shrug.

Fan clubs? Oh, right I remembered. The last few times that Minako was here, or when we were at Ami's together, we had a bit of fun looking up information about ourselves on the net, I explained. We had found, among other things, news articles, opinion pieces (both for and against), pictures, videos, a few (read several) X-rated sites (no I won't provide links. Hentai.), and several fan clubs.

When we researched the fan clubs, we found that each of us now had a fan club of our own. Some of us had several in fact well almost all of us had several fan clubs.

"What do you mean there isn't a Sailor Pluto fan club?" Setsuna-mama demanded angrily, not to mention a bit hurt. Hoshiko and I moved aside and let her at the computer, which she began to type furiously at. At that moment Michiru-mama opened the door to allow Usagi, Minako, Makoto, Luna, and Artemis in.

"Hi Hotaru, Setsuna, and, uh, Galaxia, umm…" Minako stammered a bit. Sigh, I guess she didn't get the memo we'd sent last night.

"Guys, allow me to introduce our cousin Hoshiko, from Osaka." I said as Hoshiko stood up and bowed to our guests. Setsuna-mama was oblivious as she typed away at the computer.

"Wow! Galaxia is your cousin? Cool!" Both Usagi and Minako blurted. The rest of us just stood there and stared at them.

"It's her cover identity while she stays here on Earth, baka." Luna growled. Thank goodness _someone_ checks their email.

"I knew that." Usagi shot back, pouting. I seriously began to fear for the future of the world at that point. Just then Setsuna-mama jumped into the conversation.

"What do you mean 'file not found'? You useless piece of junk! I'll…" She stood up and looked as though she was about to throw our computer out the window, which is when she finally noticed that we had company. "Oh, ah, hello." She laughed nervously as she set the monitor back down.

"Um, hi Setsuna." Makoto replied nervously. "What were you trying to find?"

"Nothing important, really." Setsuna-mama replied with a laugh and a small wave. "So Minako, you said something on the phone about fan clubs I believe?"

Minako stood there blinking for a few moments, then her brain kicked in again. "Oh yeah! We found out that the official Sailor Saturn fan club was having a general meeting today at the community center in my area, and I called the others. Usagi and Makoto here agreed to come along, but Rei is busy at the temple, and Ami was with her Mom picking up their cousin at the train station. We wondered if you guys wanted to come with us." She looked at us, and especially me, with a hopeful expression.

"I'm not sure…" I began to say. We had looked at some of the 'Official Sailor Saturn' fan clubs on the net before. Some of them seemed harmless enough, basically a bunch of people playing dress-up, but a few of them worried me.

A few of these groups took the 'Senshi of Death' part too seriously, not to mention forgetting the rebirth part, and were basically death cults for lack of a better term. A few of these groups were just outright nuts. One group went as far as predicting that I would, get this, 'arise from my crypt and lay waste to the world with my scythe.' They had even set a date! According to them I was supposed to have destroyed the world on January 18, 2004 at precisely 12:00 noon. I wonder if I should email them and tell them that I had been in bed with the sniffles that day and was unable to destroy the world that day? Nah, I think they were embarrassed enough.

Minako brought me back to the present. "C'mon Hotaru, it'll be fun. They can't all be total whack jobs."

"May I come as well?" Hoshiko asked.

"Sure! Why not? It'll give you a chance to learn more about Earth culture." Usagi replied.

"Or make her want to run away." Artemis muttered. Minako clamped his mouth shut.

I sighed and gave in. "Oh all right, I'll come."

Usagi grinned and patted me on the shoulder. "That's the spirit Hotaru!"

"What about you Setsuna?" Luna asked. Setsuna-mama gave our computer one last annoyed look before shutting it off.

"Okay, let's go." She replied with a smile. We cheered and headed for the door, telling Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa we would be going out for a bit. They told us to have fun and we all piled into Setsuna-mama's mini-van and headed out to the community center.

By the time we got there, the parking lot was only half full, and there didn't appear that many more were coming. We saw several women of various ages, shapes, and sizes heading into the hall, all dressed in replicas of my Sailor fuku. It was a bit unnerving to say the least.

"Hey, Hotaru, why don't you go in dressed in your uniform?" Usagi asked.

"Yeah, that could be fun. Besides, I doubt anyone would think that you're the real deal anyway." Minako added. I wasn't sure whether to agree with her or smack her.

"It could not do any harm, you would blend in perfectly." Hoshiko said. Oh great, now she's joining in.

"What about the rest of us?" Makoto asked.

"Usagi, do you still have your disguise pen?" Setsuna-mama asked.

"Yeah, I sure do. Let's see now…" She began rummaging through her purse. "Found it!" She announced triumphantly, holding up the disguise pen for all to see. Luna gave out a long sigh.

"Here we go again." She groaned.

"Oh, hush Luna." Minako scolded. "The rest of us can sign up as new members and go in and watch I guess."

With that, both Usagi and I transformed. Afterwards we just sat there and stared at each other in amazement. Other than differences in our heights, ages, and builds, we looked nearly identical. I really want one of those pens for my next birthday. Even Usagi's eye color had changed to match mine. The only thing she didn't have was my Silence Glaive. We all went in together and signed up, explaining that we had heard about this from both the internet and a friend, Minako. We walked into the main hall and all of us stopped dead at the sight that awaited us.

"Wow." Was the only thing that I could say that did the sight before me any justice. Everywhere we looked dozens of people walked around dressed as me. Rather disturbingly, we saw a few men dressed as me as well. I started to have second thoughts about this whole venture.

"Wow, indeed." Setsuna-mama agreed. Beside her, Hoshiko's eyes widened as she nodded silently in agreement.

_Please don't let me run into anyone from school. _I prayed as we joined the crowd. As we looked around, I saw that a few of the costumes were cheap, store-bought copies, while others were hand-made, and very well done. There were a few that were even better looking than mine! I noticed Setsuna-mama taking notes while Hoshiko just looked around in wonder. Usagi and the others had wandered off in another direction, probably heading for the buffet table knowing Usagi.

"Oh wow! That is such a cool outfit! Where did you get it from?" A voice asked from behind me. I turned to see a pretty girl dressed as me coming towards us. She was a bit taller than me, about 5'5", and about 17. She had her hair covered with a dark wig.

"My Mama made it for me." I replied proudly as I indicated Setsuna-mama who smiled politely.

"That's great! I just bought mine at a costume shop. It's nowhere near as good as yours though. My name is Hattori by the way." She smiled and extended her hand.

I took her hand and shook it. "My name is Hotaru, and this is my Mama, Setsuna, and our cousin Hoshiko." Everyone shook hands, she didn't seem like a total whack job.

"So, what made you decide to join our little club?" Hattori asked as we sat down at a table. Setsuna-mama went to get us a few drinks while we talked.

"A friend of mine, who lives nearby, found out about this club on the net and she keeps telling me that I look a lot like the real Sailor Saturn. Luckily I had this costume left over from last Halloween, so Mama let it out a bit and here I am." I replied. It seemed plausible enough to me and Hattori seemed to buy it. We were soon chatting away over sodas like old friends. I hated deceiving her like this, but it was necessary. Besides, like Minako said, who would believe me if I said that I was the real Sailor Saturn anyway?

As we talked, Hattori looked up suddenly and her face darkened. "Oh no!" She exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried.

Hattori sighed in exasperation. "A girl I know from school named Megumi that I've had troubles with in the past is coming this way with her friends. Trust me, you don't want to know her." She explained. I nodded sympathetically, I hate bullies as much as the next person.

A shadow fell over the table as a group of 4 girls let by a girl whose outfit I'll get to in a moment. She was 5'6", dark haired, chunky, and, well, to be blunt, very big in the chest department.

"Oh look, it's Hattori. Sitting around with another one of your loser friends I see." Megumi sneered in a high-pitched whining voice that made my fillings ache. The other three girls giggled.

"What do you want Megumi?" Hattori growled back. I looked over at Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko. Setsuna-mama looked around until she saw Makoto, who saw the situation and nodded. Hoshiko just sat there, not saying anything, a frown creasing her face. It seemed she had no great love for bullies either.

"Now is that any way to speak to your future club president?" Megumi sneered.

"Future club president?" Hattori snorted. "Yeah right, like anyone would be dumb enough to vote for you."

Megumi got angry. She was obviously a spoiled rich girl who was used to getting her way. "How dare you speak to me that way you underclass little twerp!" Her friends nodded in agreement. Yep, I was right.

"Why don't you and your flunkies get lost while the rest of us try and enjoy ourselves?" I growled at her. I saw Makoto, Minako, and Usagi headed our way. Luna and Artemis poked their heads out of Minako's oversized handbag.

Megumi whirled on me. "Who are you to speak to me like that? You and your cheap outfit." Her entourage snickered again. She reminded me of a few other people I knew and loathed. Hang on? Cheap outfit? This from a girl who has a bigger chest than Makoto trying to squeeze into an outfit that Michiru-mama would find tight? Not to mention the fact that she had purple fishnet stockings on.

I looked at her up and down than waved at her dismissively. "You know, I'd tell you to go out and play in traffic, but I think the Police would arrest you if you went outside dressed like that. So why don't you just go away before we hurt you." Makoto, Usagi, and Minako had arrived and they glared at Megumi and her friends along with Hattori, Mama, Hoshiko, and me. Makoto cracked her knuckles in a meaningful way, and Megumi finally took the hint. With her eyes full of tears she turned on her heel and stormed off, her flunkies running to catch up. Good riddance.

Hattori was nearly on the floor from laughing so hard at this point. "Oh, man that was priceless! Thank you Hotaru, all of you." Usagi and the others sat down and joined us, and I introduced them to Hattori. We were soon talking away again. Hattori told us a bit about the club. Other than the dressing up part, the club was actively involved in the local community and charity works. It made me feel good that my name and image could be used to promote something positive after all.

We were in the midst of exchanging phone numbers and asking about upcoming events when a high-pitched whine interrupted us. "Which one of you called my daughter a whore?"

We turned to see an older version of Megumi standing there glaring at us, her Mom presumably. She was the same height and slightly chunkier, and had the same dark hair as her daughter. I could tell where Megumi had gotten her fashion sense from as well. Her Mom had a red blouse on that revealed her ample bosom, a short black skirt, and black mesh stockings.

Megumi leaned close to her Mom, whispering in her ear as she pointed at me. Her Mom's face darkened and she was soon leaning into my face, not incidentally showing me more of her than I cared to see. "I demand that you apologize to my daughter this instant!" She bellowed. I heard the room get quiet as they watched the exchange.

Setsuna-mama stood up, pulled her away, and got into her face. The others stood up as well. "Your daughter and her friends were harassing my daughter and her friend. She is the one who needs to apologize."

Megumi's Mom glared at Setsuna-mama. "That's your daughter?" She screeched pointing at me. "Didn't you teach her any manners?"

"Yes I did actually." Setsuna-mama replied. "Just as you taught your daughter how to act and dress apparently." Megumi's Mom sputtered a bit, then she called Setsuna-mama a bitch before trying to take a swing at her. Setsuna-mama blocked the swing and reversed it into a circle throw which flipped Megumi's Mom onto the table which promptly collapsed under her weight. Whoa! I didn't know that Setsuna-mama had it in her! We just stared at her in awe as Setsuna-mama leaned down close to Megumi's Mom who had an expression of total shock on her face.

"I would suggest that you take your daughter and get out before my daughter and I show you what we're really capable of doing." Setsuna-mama said calmly. Megumi's mom nodded vigorously and she scrambled to her feet, grabbed her daughter, and fled the building with their entourage in tow.

There were several seconds of stunned silence in the room, then someone started clapping, and soon the entire room was filled with people clapping and cheering and shouts of 'way to go!' and 'she had it coming!' Setsuna-mama looked totally embarrassed by all the attention she was getting.

A few hours later after a new club president, Hattori, was elected, we said our goodbyes and retired to our favorite hang-out, the Crown, before heading home.

"That was great!" Minako exclaimed after we had settled into a booth.

"Yeah, the expression on her face was priceless! I didn't think you had it in you Setsuna!" Makoto stated. Setsuna-mama just shrugged modestly and sipped her tea.

"What did you think Hoshiko?" Usagi asked Hoshiko who was sipping away at a chocolate milkshake.

"About this wonderful confection, or what happened earlier?" Hoshiko replied with a happy expression. We smiled a bit as she suddenly winced, an ice-cream headache coming on.

"It helps a bit if you don't drink it quite so quickly." Setsuna-mama remarked.

"Thank you, I will remember that in the future." Hoshiko replied, rubbing her temples a bit. "But to answer to your question though, today was a most interesting day. Are all of these 'fan clubs' like this?"

"You should see a Star Trek convention sometime." Minako replied suggestively. Hoshiko just stared at her, completely baffled.

"But we still can't find a Sailor Pluto fan club." Setsuna-mama sniffed sadly.

"Aw Mama, don't worry, we'll be your fan club." I assured her as I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled and hugged me.

"Can we join?" Usagi, Minako, Makoto, Luna, and Artemis asked.

"And myself as well?" Hoshiko asked.

"Of course you guys can, everyone's welcome." I replied.

"Thank you Hime-chan, all of you." Setsuna-mama smiled warmly at all of us.

"You're welcome Mama." I replied and kissed her again.

"Now let's talk about club dues." Setsuna-mama said in a serious tone. We all stared at her in shock. "Just kidding!" She laughed and we all joined her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Four: Tuesday I.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.**

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wanted to go back to bed, pull the covers over your head, and stay there for a few months? That was basically today in a nutshell for me.

It started out quietly enough although there was a thunderstorm raging outside. Since Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, and I were going to the recording studio today, Setsuna-mama decided to go to the Time Gate. Hoshiko asked if she could join her so she could check on the progress of a few of the Star Seeds.

"Sure, I'd be glad to help." Setsuna-mama replied. Hoshiko smiled and thanked her. They left right after breakfast.

"Have fun! Don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Haruka-papa called as the two of them left. Setsuna-mama just glared at her before they stepped into the portal and disappeared, but not before Hoshiko asked a question.

"What did Haruka mean by that?" She asked. Setsuna-mama muttered something in reply. "Oh!" Hoshiko exclaimed, and they were gone.

"What?" Haruka-papa demanded as Michiru-mama and I glared at her. Michiru-mama let out an exasperated sigh.

"Let's just go to the recording studio, okay?"

After packing our stuff and setting out a few cushions for Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko to land safely on when they came back (Setsuna-mama has a tendency to tumble haphazardly out of the time portal when she comes home. None of us know why.) We headed out.

Things started to go wrong from the start. First, Haruka-papa refused to take the mini-van, which was a much better vehicle to drive in this kind of weather, at least in Michiru-mama and my opinion anyway. But Haruka-papa was being stubborn and Michiru-mama didn't want to be late because Mr. Tanaka, the producer, was a stickler for punctuality. So, reluctantly, we piled into the car and took off.

The second problem was Papa's car, specifically the retractable canopy, which leaked. It leaked into the back seat where I was sitting naturally, nothing major, just a slow, steady dripping on my head that I found very annoying and said so to Haruka-papa. As soon as we stooped at a light, I shuffled over and sat behind Michiru-mama.

"Don't worry Hime-chan, we're almost there." Haruka-papa assured me when she saw that I was buckled in safely. This is, of course, when the tire blew out. So, long and short of it, Haruka-papa and I went to fix the tire while Michiru-mama tried to patch the leak with duct tape. Why did I go to help Haruka-papa you ask? Because I'm a big believer in the phrase 'misery loves company' that's why. Believe me, after several minutes of the two of us changing the tire, with Haruka-papa using words I can't print here, and Michiru-mama telling her not to use that kind of language, we were wet, cold, and very miserable by the time we got back into the car and got back on the road. At least Michiru-mama had insisted that we each pack a change of clothes just in case.

We arrived at the studio nearly ten minutes late, not to mention soaked, and Haruka-papa grumbling about the upholstery the remainder of the trip, grabbed our stuff, and headed inside. We then spent the next ten minutes trying to explain to the receptionist who we were, what we were doing there, and why we were late.

Haruka-papa was about to hop over the desk and beat up the receptionist, when a man that Michiru-mama knew as Mr. Tanaka's assistant came up and rescued us. Or was he rescuing the receptionist, who knows? Anyway, he led us to a room where we could dry off and change before going into the studio.

"You are late Miss Kaioh." An unhappy voice stated. _Duh! Ya think? _I thought as a short, fat, middle-aged, balding man in a grey suit waddled up to us. Michiru-mama smiled her most disarming smile and bowed politely while Papa just folded her arms and glared at the man. I just kept quiet and tried to smile.

"Please forgive us Mr. Tanaka, we ran into some car troubles on the way here." Michiru-mama began, but Mr. Tanaka cut her off.

"Yes, and next you will say that it won't happen again." Mr. Tanaka replied testily. "It costs a lot of money to keep a studio waiting you know." He proceeded to go on a long tangent about money and young people these days showing no respect, etc. Michiru-mama kept smiling but she was starting to get annoyed, while Haruka-papa was well past annoyed and moving on to wanting to inflict physical damage. I just stood there and held onto her arm.

Finally he stopped his monologue and sighed. "Well, I guess that since you are finally here we can start the recording session." _Gee, thanks. _ We reluctantly followed him to the studio with him lecturing us the whole way.

We walked into the studio together and saw that everything had been set up and waiting for us. There were two music stands with microphones set up for me and Michiru-mama, and a baby grand piano for Haruka-papa. A few technicians smiled in greeting and gave us sympathetic looks as we walked in behind Mr. Tanaka.

"Where is the second violinist that you promised to bring with you today, Miss Kaioh?" He demanded.

"She's right here." Michiru-mama replied as she paced a hand on my shoulder. "This is my daughter Hotaru." I looked up at him and tried to smile as warmly as possible under the circumstances. He scowled back at me, obviously not impressed with what he was looking at. Finally he shrugged.

"Well if there isn't anyone more experienced available, I guess she'll have to do." I really wanted to strangle him at this point.

"Mr. Tanaka, let me assure you that what Hotaru lacks in experience, she more than makes up for in talent." Michiru-mama said a definite edge in her voice.

"In other words, she's the best we've got, deal with it." Haruka-papa added as she got in his face and glared at him. She towered over him by several inches and could take him out with one hand and he knew it. He swallowed nervously, took a few steps back, and allowed us to play. Who says people don't listen to reason?

We spent the next few hours playing and recording. Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa even let me solo a few times, much to Mr. Tanaka's chagrin and the other's delight. We managed to record several tracks successfully with as few mistakes and do-overs as possible until the director were satisfied that we were done for the day. Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, the technicians and I sat there basking in the satisfaction of a job well done. That wouldn't last long though.

"I suppose that was adequate, given your daughter's total lack of experience." Mr. Tanaka commented. _Adequate? Adequate! Is that the best you can say? _Haruka_ -_papa and I looked at each other and thought the same thing; _let's get him!_ But it was Mama who got in his face.

"Now you listen to me you pompous, arrogant, jerk, I've had enough of you and your snide remarks and put-downs! Yes we were late, but that is no excuse for your rude behavior. You can say what you will about me, I've heard worse believe me, but you do not insult my daughter and get away with it. You will apologize and you will do it right now, do you understand?" Michiru-mama's voice was calm and even, but her expression was so angry it was scary. Haruka-papa just stood there glowering at him and cracking her knuckles slowly, one by one. Mr. Tanaka was sweating profusely by this point as he looked at the three of us. The technicians stood there in open mouthed shock. Finally he took the hint and apologized.

"I apologize for my behavior, young lady. It was very rude and selfish of me, it will not happen again." He bowed deeply as he said this.

"We'll be leaving now." Michiru-mama said in a dismissive tone. He just nodded in reply. A few of the technicians were grinning from ear to ear. It seemed that they'd wanted to see this happen for a long time. The director gave us a thumbs-up as we left.

We grabbed our stuff from the change room and left, only pausing long enough for Haruka-papa to glower at the receptionist as we passed. She turned very pale I'm happy to say.

It had stopped raining by the time we got outside and got into the car. We ended up putting a blanket over the back seat because Michiru-mama's patch didn't hold very well. Haruka-papa looked a bit annoyed at the mess on her car's normally immaculate upholstery.

"Let's go have lunch before we go home, I think I'd prefer to patch the roof on a full stomach." She said. Michiru-mama and I nodded and we got into the car just as our communicators went off. _Great, now what? _

Michiru-mama answered for us, as Minako's face popped up on the screen. "Hello Minako, what's going on?" We could hear a fight in the background.

"Hey guys, sorry if I interrupted your session, but we have a yoma in the park near the river. Makoto and Ami are with me, but the others aren't here yet." Minako replied.

"We're on our way, don't worry." Haruka-papa assured her as she put the car in gear and we took off. A yoma! Perfect! Just what we needed to blow off some steam. I saw that both –Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama had the same notion as they had their transformation wands out. Have I mentioned how thankful I am for tinted windows? We transformed en route.

"Thanks guys! Rei's here, no sign of Usagi yet." Minako was interrupted by an explosion.

"Hang on, we're almost there!" I shouted.

"Thanks Hotaru, Usagi's here as well, YOW!" Minako shouted and the transmission was cut off.

"Damn it!" Haruka-papa growled, thumping the steering wheel. As we arrived we saw the usual signs of a yoma attack, panicking people running away from the explosions in the distance. We managed to find a safe place to park and headed into the fray.

Haruka-papa was out of the car and halfway there before Michiru-mama and I were out of the car. Michiru-mama called for her to wait up as we sprinted after her. Have I also mentioned how much I hate running?

We caught up to Haruka-papa and jogged in at a more sedate pace. We arrived in time to see Rei get blasted off her feet and land almost at ours as we arrived. She jumped slightly as we reached down to help her up. She turned and looked at us.

"About time you showed up!" Rei growled, but we knew she was relieved to see us.

"Oh I don't know." Haruka-papa replied with a wink towards us. "By the looks of things you seem to have the situation well in hand. I guess we can go to lunch now. Later."

Rei's reply was cut off by several screams and a loud growl from the yoma. This creature looked like the _Creature from the Black Lagoon, _atall, thin, scaly amphibian with seaweed covering its dark green body. It ran around, roared, shot blasts of hard water at anything that moved, the usual stuff that monsters do. The four of us looked at each other and nodded. We joined the others who were surrounding the creature. Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama, along with Makoto and Rei, faced the creature head-on while the rest of us flanked it. I found myself next to Ami with a very steep looking and muddy hill behind us. I looked down for a second and thought that landing n the big muddy mess below would not be fun. I turned to Ami who smiled at me while analyzing the creature with her mini-computer and visor. She looked a bit tired and I said so.

"My cousins arrived yesterday." She replied, a bit testily. I giggled a bit as we watched as Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa started their attacks staggering the creature. Minako wrapped her Love-Me Chain around it while Re blasted it with a Flame Sniper as it prepared to fire at Michiru-mama.

The blast went wild and hit the ground in front of Ami causing her to jump backwards and hit me, startling me enough to drop my Silence Glaive and stagger backwards. My feet caught on some loose gravel and I lost my footing. Arms flailing madly I reached out to Ami and the two of us went tumbling down the hill and into the mud below with loud cries of 'WHAAAA!'

The two of us tumbled bum over tea kettle down the slope until we hit the bottom in a messy heap. I was lying on something soft and I opened my eyes to find that I had my head on Ami's breast. Suffice it to say I sat up and scrambled off her in a hurry.

"Ami, are you okay?" I asked. She muttered something and sat up. She was covered from head to toe in mud, as I gathered I was. She deactivated her visor and ran one hand over her self to make sure nothing was broken. The other hand picked up a mud encrusted object that I figured was her mini-computer which she gave a disdainful look.

"I'm all right Hotaru. But my poor computer will never be the same." Ami pouted. Despite everything I laughed and put my arms around her. Soon she started to laugh as well. We heard the battle wind down and then the others leaned over the top of the hill and peered down at us as we sat there giggling and hugging each other.

"Ah, are you two okay?" Usagi asked, looking very concerned.

Ami's laughter subsided. "Yeah, we're fine." She called.

"Okay, I'm throwing my Love Me Chain down to pull you out." Minako called. She did so and soon we were standing in front of the whole gang. We must have looked quite the sight as we were coated with gooey, sticky mud and we were still giggling like crazy.

"Mama? Papa? Can we go home now?" I asked between giggles.

"Sure we can sweetheart." Michiru-mama replied.

"There is no way you are getting into my car like that." Haruka-papa growled. Ami and I both glared at her and tossed handfuls of mud at her that hit her in the chest. She stood there looking at the mess then she glared at us, which caused us to burst out laughing again.

"You are _so _grounded young lady." Haruka-papa growled.

After some pleading and coaxing from Ami and me, not to mention some whispered words from Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa took Ami home before we went home. Ami's Mom knew all our identities and between us we cooked up a good story as to why Ami was coming home all covered in mud. She'd been caught out in the rain and had slipped and fallen while running home. All we had to do was muddy up her raincoat a lot. We then went home so I could take a long bath and several showers.

A while later, I went downstairs dressed in my pajamas, white socks, and my new purple bathrobe that had my initials embroidered on it. I found Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa in the kitchen.

"How are you feeling Princess?" Haruka-papa asked.

"A lot better now, thanks Papa. Um, am I still grounded?"

She laughed. "Nah, but you are going to help me clean the car, inside and out, tomorrow, since the weatherman says that it's not raining tomorrow, finally."

"That sounds like fun, Papa." I was starting to feel better already. "Have Mama and Hoshiko come home yet?"

"No, not yet." Michiru-mama replied. "I'm going to start dinner now. Hopefully they'll be home by then. Oh, and Ami called to let you know that she's okay and she'll call you tomorrow. She has to entertain her cousins and clean her computer."

I laughed, poor Ami. "Ok, thanks Mama. I'll go and watch TV until then." I hugged both of them and went into the living room. On the way the phone rang and I answered it, hoping it was Ami again. "Hello?"

"I know your secret." The creepy voice again.

"Baka." I replied and hung up. It had been a long day and I wasn't in any mood for stupid jokes anymore. As I headed for the sofa I suddenly heard a loud _whooshing _noise overhead.

"What the…?" I exclaimed. I then noticed I was standing on the cushions we had set out earlier. I looked up and saw Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko.

"Aw crap!" I managed to say before they both landed on me, knocking me silly, first Hoshiko (in full armor of course) followed by Setsuna-mama. The next thing I remember was lying on my back on the floor with the two of them on top of me and Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama running into the room.

"Hotaru! Are you all right?" I heard Setsuna-mama yell.

"I am so sorry! Please forgive me little one!" Hoshiko added.

I sat up slowly and glowered at all of them. "That's it! I'm going to bed!"

So I'm now writing this in my room, with the door locked, and my dresser pushed up against the door. Sometimes it really isn't worth getting out of bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe. **

**Chapter Five: Wednesday I. **

**Disclaimer: Still don't own any of the characters.**

Finally! I thought that the sun would never come out again. Guess we don't have to build an ark after all.

The morning sun poked through my curtains as I awoke this morning. The weather promised to be really bright and warm for the rest of the week. So it was an ideal day to wash Haruka-papa's car.

After a quick shower, I put on a simple T-shirt and shorts and went downstairs. Everyone but Setsuna-mama was sitting at the breakfast table. As soon as I walked in though, everyone got quiet. I guess I was a little steamed yesterday. Setsuna-mama came in and gave me a worried look as she passed. I smiled at her and asked her to sit so I could say something. Hoshiko looked at me and then quickly looked away with a sad look in her eyes. Time to apologize I guess.

"Mama, Papa, Mama, Hoshiko, I would really like to apologize for yelling at you yesterday. I had a really bad day, but that was no excuse to take it out on any of you, especially you Mama and Hoshiko. I should have watched where I was going. I'm sorry." I bowed and smiled at them.

"That's all right Hime-chan, we forgive you. Mr. Tanaka's behavior was inexcusable, and falling down the hill couldn't have been fun." Michiru-mama said.

"Not to mention being covered with mud, rained on, and nearly being blown up." Haruka-papa added.

"And having us land on you like a ton of bricks." Setsuna-mama said.

"You are not hurt then?" Hoshiko asked.

"No I'm okay, thanks Hoshiko." I replied as I went over and hugged each of them. Soon we were sitting down to breakfast and discussing our plans for today.

"Setsuna and I were going grocery shopping basically." Michiru-mama said.

"And Firefly and I were going to clean up the car a bit, and maybe we'll head for the park later. Does that sound good to you, kiddo?" Haruka-papa asked.

"Sounds great Papa, what about you Hoshiko?" I turned to Hoshiko who had to swallow a mouthful of toast before replying. She smiled and took a sip of orange juice.

"I was wondering if you and Haruka needed any help." She replied.

"Hey, the more the merrier I always say." Haruka-papa said with a grin. Michiru-mama glowered at her as the rest of us sighed. "Anyway, you might want to change into something more suitable." Haruka-papa nodded at Hoshiko's blue spring dress.

"Is this not suitable?" Hoshiko asked as she looked down at her dress.

"It's suitable for going out to the mall, but it may get wrecked when you get it wet. A t-shirt and shorts would be better it's a bit warm outside." I told her indicating what I was wearing along with Haruka-papa's blue tank top and shorts.

"I understand I will change after breakfast thank you." Hoshiko replied with a smile. Just then the phone rang and Michiru-mama went over to answer it.

"Hello? Oh hi Ami. How are you?" Michiru-mama paused and listened. "Yes she's all right. Sets and I were just going to get some groceries while Hotaru, Ruka, and Hoshiko wash the car." She paused again and giggled a bit. "No I don't think we can help with either problem, although if you want Ruka to scare them off I guess we can come by soon." Pause. "Okay, thank you for calling Ami. You too. Bye." She hung up and came back to the table smiling and shaking her head a bit. "Poor Ami."

"Cousins are driving her nuts I take it?" Haruka-papa asked. Michiru-mama nodded.

"Yes, they are a bit too demanding as far as houseguests go. Nothing seems to be good enough for them. Yuriko (Ami's Mom) is almost out of patience herself.

"Sounds like they could use a little help then. Maybe we should invite them out with us on Saturday?" Setsuna-mama wondered aloud.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Haruka-papa said, as she grinned in a way that made us a bit nervous.

"On that note, we'll be heading for the store now. You mentioned that you had some dry cleaning that you wanted done?" Michiru-mama asked Haruka-papa.

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me Michi." She kissed Michiru-mama on the lips then went upstairs while Setsuna-mama and I gathered the breakfast dishes. Hoshiko headed for her room to change.

A few minutes later Haruka-papa returned with the sports coat she had been wearing yesterday and handed it to Michiru-mama who started going through the pockets.

"I already did that." Haruka-papa said.

"I know you did dear, but it never hurts to double-check." Michiru-mama found something and held up a few coins for us all to see. "See what I mean?" Haruka-papa made a face and held out her hand. Michiru-mama smiled sweetly and pocketed the change. A look of disappointment flashed over Haruka-papa's face, which prompted Michiru-mama to smile and kiss her again. I made a show of rinsing a plate off to cover the gagging noises I made while Setsuna-mama just shook her head.

"Are you all right Hotaru? You do not sound well." Hoshiko asked in concern as she walked back into the kitchen. She now sported a red T-shirt, blue shorts, and white socks. Her hair was tied back in a long ponytail.

"Oh she's fine. It's just something that comes and goes every once in a while." Haruka-papa said while glaring at me. I just kept quiet at this moment.

"All right, we're off then. Have fun today!" Michiru-mama called out as she and Setsuna-mama headed for the door.

"See you later." Setsuna-mama added.

"Don't buy the whole store." Haruka-papa cautioned with a stern look.

"You're no fun." Michiru-mama pouted as she gave Haruka-papa a last kiss and me a peck on the cheek. Setsuna-mama gave me a kiss on the cheek and hugged Haruka-papa. Both of them gave Hoshiko a hug and soon they were gone. Haruka-papa saw them off and then pulled her car out to the front driveway before coming back inside.

"All right, let's get all the stuff for cleaning the car and get busy." Haruka-papa exclaimed with a clap of her hands. Hoshiko and I got our shoes on and went into the garage to find the buckets, soap, sponges, squeegees, and vacuum cleaner, while Haruka-papa got the hose. Soon the three of us were gathered by Haruka-papa's car where she started to give instructions. She would work on the body of the car, while Hoshiko did the windows. Myself, being the smallest, lucky me got to vacuum the inside and clean the dashboard.

More than a few people have accused Haruka-papa (including Michiru-mama when she's really mad at her) of loving her car more than the rest of us. I can assure you that it's not true. She loves to work on her car a lot because she feels that a well maintained car will last you a lifetime. As she put it one time, 'I love my car a lot, but I love my family more. Besides there are certain things I can do with my family that I can't do with my car, like read to it, take it out for ice cream, bug it unmercifully, and in Michi's case make love to it.' Suffice it to say that effectively ended that argument, much to our embarrassment, not to mention Rei's, Makoto's, Ami's, Minako's, and Usagi's, who had been bugging Haruka-papa about it that day. I can also tell you she slept on the couch that night.

Anyway as we worked, it started to get steadily hotter outside and we were all feeling the affects, especially me, who was working in an enclosed space. Haruka-papa called a break.

"I'll go get a few Cokes while you two rest here, and then I'll finish the inside, okay Firefly?" Haruka-papa asked with a smile.

"Okay, thanks Papa." I replied with a smile.

Hoshiko and I sat under a tree by the driveway to cool off. It must have been nearly 25 degrees Celsius by now and we were both sweating profusely. I looked up at Hoshiko who was leaning her head back a bit with her eyes closed, rivers of sweat on her face. "How are you doing?" I asked her.

"I am fine. It is rather hot, but I have survived far worse than this." She replied as she opened her eyes and gave me a reassuring smile. She wiped some of the sweat away than looked at me again. "May I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Why do you call Haruka your 'Papa'?"

I had to sit and think about it for a moment. "Well it's kind of silly really, but when they first took me in, I was a baby. Then I accelerated to the age of 4. When I first saw Haruka-papa with her short hair, suit, tie, and trousers, I thought it was my Papa, my real Papa, and so I called her Papa. She smiled and asked me to call her Haruka and I called out 'Haruka-papa!' She tried to correct me several times, but Michiru-mama said it was cute, and the name stuck. But she was the one who gave Setsuna-mama her nickname."

"I imagine she was a little annoyed at that." Hoshiko remarked with a giggle.

"She was at first, but she got used to it. She confided in me that hearing me call her Setsuna-mama made her day that much brighter." I replied.

"I have noticed that you usually call them 'Mama', 'Papa', and 'Mama' now." Hoshiko pointed out. I nodded.

"I just felt that we'd grown together as a family and that there was no need for the nicknames anymore, at least between us. I still use their nicknames when we're out together, and it saves a little confusion when I introduce them to others. But at home, or with the rest of our family, the other Senshi, I call them Mama, Papa, and Mama."

"Does it cause any confusion?" Hoshiko asked.

"Oh yeah, it does sometimes." Haruka-papa replied for me as she sat beside us and handed out the bottles of Coke she carried. "We get confused sometimes, as do some of our guests, but we've adapted. We love our Hime-chan to death." She put an arm around me and I put my head on her shoulder. "I think koneko (Usagi) summed it up best; 'Haruka, you, Michiru, and Setsuna are the bricks in your family. Hotaru is the mortar holding you together."

I looked up at Haruka-papa in surprise I had never heard her mention this before. She smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

"Usagi is a wise young woman." Hoshiko stated.

"That she is. That she most definitely is." Haruka-papa replied, looking wistful. I made a note to call Usagi later and thank her.

The three of us sat quietly and sipped at our Cokes until we were done and Haruka-papa told us it was time to get back to work. Half an hour later we were nearly finished when we heard the phone ring from outside. Haruka-papa grunted and went inside to answer it, leaving us to finish up.

As we were doing the finishing touches, I looked over at Hoshiko. She was examining her work critically, making sure she hadn't missed anything. In my heat addled mind, I thought that she was being a little too serious and I thought I should do something about it. So I flicked some water in her face.

"Hey! Do not do that!" She exclaimed as she wiped a few drops off the rear view mirror.

"Yeah? What are you gonna do if I don't?" I replied, flicking more water at her.

"Stop it!" More water.

"Make me!" Much more water.

"Fine! I shall!" She declared as she threw a wet, soapy sponge in my face.

"So that's the way you want to play huh?" I shouted and threw my sponge back at her.

"Hey! If you're going to do that, step away from the car!" Haruka-papa bellowed from the kitchen window. We stopped throwing things and cleaned off the car.

"Thank you!" Haruka-papa shouted and slammed the window shut. We tided up, put the hose away and were heading into the garage when a wet sponge bounced off my head.

"Hoshiko!" I shouted as I whirled around, only to get a face full of water.

"I believe the phrase is 'Gotcha!" Hoshiko crowed. I growled and threw my sponge at her, causing her to shriek, drop her empty bucket, and run out of the garage with me and my nearly full bucket hot on her heels.

She sprinted into the front yard and nearly ran into a low branch. She turned around and that's when I ran up and doused her with the bucket. She screamed as she was well and thoroughly soaked. I dropped the bucket and fell over laughing. She glared at me than began laughing herself, and soon she was on the ground as well. Soon we were both trying to catch our breath.

"Are we even now?" I asked her between breaths. She was an absolute mess. Her hair was plastered to her head, and her shirt was soaked. I wasn't much better. Granted having shorter hair then hers had a few advantages.

"Yes I would say we are even." Hoshiko gasped. Then she smiled and extended her hand. "Truce?"

"Truce." I smiled and took her hand, which was when Haruka-papa struck, nailing both of us in the head with a blast of water.

"Papa!" I sputtered as I turned to face her. She was standing there with a carbine-sized water gun in her hands, a pistol tucked in the waistband of her shorts, and a big grin on her face. "Thought you could have a water fight without me eh?"

"Run away!" Hoshiko and I shouted as we scrambled to our feet and tried to run away as fast as our legs could carry us. Yeah right, me trying to run away from Haruka-papa the track star. Hoshiko was having slightly better luck then I was.

"Keep her busy! I need to get something!" I shouted to her as I ran towards the house.

"Hurry please!" She cried. I heard her screaming inside the house as I ran to get a few things. When I was done I ran back outside to see Hoshiko running at me, Haruka-papa right behind her."

"Catch Hoshiko!" I called and tossed her a big water gun. A very big water gun with a lot of pressure and capacity. She was grinning evilly as she caught and examined it. I walked up with a second rifle and handed her one of the water pistols I had as well. Haruka-papa had stopped dead in her tracks. Hoshiko and I smiled at one another and turned to face Haruka-papa and commenced blasting. She was soaked instantly I'm happy to say.

"AAAAA!" Haruka-papa shouted as we attacked her. She tried to fight back but she had run out of water, and had lost her pistol. She held up her hands in surrender.

"Um, truce?" She asked with a hopeful look.

Hoshiko and I looked at each other. "Nah!" We took aim.

"Feets do your stuff!" Haruka-papa cried as she turned and ran. We laughed and ran after her. I thought I saw a familiar van pull up as I ran, but put it out of my mind as I was too engrossed in the hunt to stop and look.

We tore around the corner of the house and stopped dead as Haruka-papa was waiting there with the hose in her hands and a high pressure nozzle attached. "Now who's got whom?" She crowed. Hoshiko and I both swallowed hard.

"YAAAAAAA!" Haruka-papa bellowed as she squeezed the trigger. At the last instant, Hoshiko grabbed me and pushed me to the ground, the jet of water passed over our heads by inches.

"AAAIIIEEE!" Someone screamed from behind us. A very familiar someone.

Hoshiko and I looked up wondering what was going on. In front of us, all of the color drained from her face as she dropped the hose. Hoshiko and I looked at one another, swallowed hard, and slowly turned around.

Behind us was Michiru-mama. A very wet and very angry looking Michiru-mama. She was wearing what looked like a brand new dress that she wanted to show Haruka-papa, a dress that was now totally soaked. Beside her at a relatively safe distance, Setsuna-mama stood there with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide open in shock.

"Um, hi Michi." Haruka-papa said with a nervous laugh. Hoshiko and I quickly crawled out of the line of fire and were soon cowering beside Setsuna-mama. Michiru-mama just stood there, fists clenched at her sides, as she glared at Haruka-papa.

"Err, that's a nice dress you're wearing." Haruka-papa said lamely. I thought I saw steam coming out of Michiru-mama's ears as her face got even angrier. The three of us were quivering with fear. I think given the choice between fighting a yoma and facing an angry Michiru-mama right now, we would have fought the yoma. With sticks.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?" Haruka-papa asked. We tried to burrow into the Earth.

"**HARUKA TENOH!" **Michiru-mama bellowed, making our ears pop.

"Eep!" Haruka-papa squeaked as she turned and ran, Michiru-mama hot on her heels. We chased after them, at a safe distance thank you, and found Michiru-mama at the base of the largest tree of our yard. She was running around the trunk shouting for an axe or a chainsaw while shouting upwards at Haruka-papa.

"Haruka Tenoh you, you, ooh! You'd better stay up there if you know what's good for you. In fact you'd better get comfy you're staying up there until the founding of Crystal Tokyo!" With that, Michiru-mama stormed into the house and slammed the door shut behind her.

"I think we'd better put the groceries away." Setsuna-mama remarked. Hoshiko and I just nodded dumbly. We helped bring the groceries in and helped Setsuna-mama put them away after a quick shower and change of clothes.

When dinnertime rolled around Haruka-papa was still in the tree and Michiru-mama was still in her room so the three of us made dinner. We set out plates for the two of them and hoped that they would come down and be nice to each other again.

A few minutes later Michiru-mama came downstairs, either the smell lured her down or she was tired of moping in her room.

"That smells wonderful everyone, looks great too. I'm starving, will it be ready soon?" She asked as she looked at everything and nodded in approval.

"Yeah it will be soon Michiru-mama. Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine Hime-chan, don't worry. Has Haruka come down yet?"

"No not yet." Setsuna-mama replied.

"Was your dress ruined?" Hoshiko asked.

"No I can wash and iron it. It'll be fine." Michiru-mama assured us. "I'm more worried about poor Haruka."

"I'm so glad to hear that." Haruka-papa announced as she walked into the room. She was a sight to behold, let me tell you. She was covered from head to toe with leaves, dirt, and other stuff. And she was still a bit damp from earlier.

"Oh you poor dear, you're a mess." Michiru-mama cried as she went up to Haruka-papa and started fussing over her. "Go upstairs and clean up, dinners almost ready."

"I know. I could smell it outside. I'll be back in a few minutes." Haruka-papa smiled and went upstairs while Setsuna-mama, Hoshiko, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. Several minutes later we were all seated at the table enjoying dinner as one big happy family again.

"Haruka, I'm sorry for yelling at you and for saying the things I said. You kind of startled me with that hose." Michiru-mama said.

"And I'm sorry for soaking you like that I was aiming for these two." Haruka-papa replied, indicating Hoshiko and me.

"It looked like you three were having a lot of fun." Setsuna-mama remarked.

"Yes I had a lot of fun today. More fun than I have had in a very long time. Thank you Hotaru, Haruka." Hoshiko smiled at the two of us.

"Our pleasure." I replied.

"Next time you want to have a water fight let us know." Haruka-papa added.

"Oh please!" Michiru-mama exclaimed as she dropped her fork. "You call that water fight? You amateurs don't know what a good water fight is! If you want a water fight, I'll give you a water fight!"

We just stared at Michiru-mama, none of us particularly sure if we really wanted to take her up on her offer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe. **

**Chapter Six: Thursday I.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters. **

It was another bright and sunny day outside as I got up to get ready for a day I was really looking forward to, my friend Kimyo's birthday party.

Like last year we would be going to the Tokyo Zoo as her parents are huge sponsors of the place. Kimyo had called me last night to confirm that I would be there with my whole family and I said yes. She was really happy, especially when I assured her that Haruka-papa was coming.

"Ooh I can't wait to show off that I know the great Haruka Tenoh to the others!" She squealed happily. I laughed a bit. I had the speakerphone on in our study since I was typing at the same time.

"Oh yeah, we're bringing my cousin Hoshiko along since she's visiting from out of town. I hope you don't mind." I told her. She assured me that it was okay. Then an unpleasant thought occurred to me. "Are Keiko and Megumi coming?" I was referring to Kimyo's former friends who made such a mess of things last year.

"No they're not, thank goodness. I don't want to talk to them ever again especially after the fiasco with that project we tried to do at your place." Kiyo replied. I winced at the memory. Our science teacher had paired Kimyo and me with the two of them on a big science project. Can you say oil and water? Relations between the four of us were strained at the best of times since the mess last year and we generally tried to avoid one another. We ended up at my home where we basically ended up arguing constantly and Haruka-papa eventually threw them out.

Kimyo decided to change gears. "But I know that Katsuji will be there." She said suggestively. Katsuji was a really hot looking classmate of mine. Tall, dark haired, green eyes, looks to kill for, you get the idea. And he was a nice guy who was interested in me! We'd had lunch together at school several times, along with Kimyo. She figured it was a matter of time before he asked me out.

"Oh really. Well I guess that I could be persuaded to come then." I replied in my best suggestive voice as I sipped my Coke.

"Hotaru, who's Katsuji?" Haruka-papa asked from behind me. I nearly gagged on my Coke, boy she can move quietly when she wants to. I didn't need to turn around to know that she had her arms folded and a scowl on her face.

"Busted!" Kimyo crowed as she hung up. Grrr, she was gonna suffer when I saw her next. Provided I lived long enough.

"Um, hi Papa! He's just this guy I know, a classmate. That's all. Really." I laughed nervously as I turned to face her. I was right she had her arms folded and a scowl on her face. An eyebrow was arched but otherwise she just scowled. I sensed a disbelief factor of 112%.

"Uh-huh. I guess that means that I will be coming with you after all tomorrow." Haruka-papa said ominously. Oh great, just what I needed, Haruka-papa in her 'overprotective papa' mode. Hopefully Michiru-mama can keep her from going overboard. Now I just had to worry about Hoshiko getting lost and Setsuna-mama from repeating her performance from last year.

After breakfast we sat down and we made sure that we had everything, film for the cameras, extra batteries, Kimyo's present and card, the day's itinerary, etc. We only had one small problem as far as we could tell.

"What do we do to keep Haruka-papa from being mobbed by her adoring fans?" I wondered aloud.

"I'll just wear a hat and sunglasses like I usually do." Haruka-papa replied.

"I don't know, maybe something a bit more might be in order." Setsuna-mama suggested.

"Perhaps Haruka could wear a dress or something?" Hoshiko suggested. I just moved and sat beside Michiru-mama at this point.

"Yeah! That could work! I have this nice little skirt that should fit her, a nice blouse and…" Her voice trailed off as Haruka-papa was standing over them with her face mere inches from theirs and a very annoyed look on her face. Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko swallowed.

"Or perhaps she could wear a hat and sunglasses." Hoshiko said hastily.

"Less is more, that's what I always say." Setsuna-mama added. Haruka-papa came back and sat beside us again much to their relief.

Michiru-mama just sighed and shook her head. "Now that _that's _settled, let's get going shall we?"

About half an hour later we were pulling into the parking lot of the Tokyo Zoo. It was fairly busy and I was worried that we'd be forever finding Kimyo and the others. As usual Michiru-mama set me straight with her reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. I smiled back and we carried on. Haruka-papa made sure her dark glasses and ball cap were firmly in place before we went in.

We got up to the main gate and saw several dozen people there. All of us started searching around for Kimyo and her Mom. Thankfully we didn't have to wait long.

"Hotaru! Hi! You made it!" Kimyo cried as she jogged up to us, her Mom trailing behind her. I grinned and went up to meet her halfway, laughing and hugging each other. We'd practically become inseparable at school, and our families had become close friends. She'd also met Usagi and the others and was amazed that I knew so many cool people, as she'd put it. If she only knew.

"I'm so glad all of you could make it." Kimyo stated.

"We're glad to be here." Michiru-mama replied. We introduced them to Hoshiko, and were happy to see that they got along right away.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both." Hoshiko said warmly.

"It's nice to meet you as well." Kimyo's Mom replied. "Come on let's go meet the rest of the group." Kimyo and I lead the way while Kimyo's Mom talked to Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko while Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa trailed behind us holding hands.

"I'm so glad that Haruka is joining us today." Kimyo whispered as we headed for the group.

"Me too. Just don't make too much of a fuss over her okay? We kind of enjoy our privacy." I replied.

Kimyo pouted. "Aw, and I was going to make a big announcement over the Zoo's PA system announcing that the great Haruka Tenoh was in attendance." She giggled and ducked as I playfully tried to swat her in the head.

She changed subjects. "Your cousin's really a nice lady. One question though, does she always talk so formally?"

I had to think about that as I'd gotten used to the way Hoshiko talked. Granted, Japanese wasn't her native language. In fact I had no idea what her native language was! I made a note to sit down with her along with my parents and give her some elocution lessons. "It was the way her parents brought her up. A very strict family from what she's told me." Hey, it seemed plausible enough.

We walked up to the group of 16 boys and girls, some of them were my classmates, a few were some other friends of Kimyo's and two I didn't know at all and Kimyo introduced them as her cousins. 8 other parents were there as well. Then there was Katsuji.

"Hello Hotaru. I'm so glad you could make it." Katsuji said with a smile. I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks as I looked up into his emerald eyes. He was about the same height as Haruka-papa, 5'10" and built like an athlete. He was one of our schools top swimmers in fact. Did I mention that he was drop dead gorgeous? He flashed that winning smile at me and my heart nearly melted. If this were anime, we'd suddenly be standing alone in front of the seashore at sunset as we walked towards each other in slow motion, arms outstretched, ready to meet in a passionate kiss…and then reality crashed in, in the form of Haruka-papa clearing her throat rather dramatically.

"Oh, hello. You must be Hotaru's parents. I'm Katsuji Mori. It's nice to meet you at last. Hotaru has told me a lot about you." He smiled and extended his hand to Haruka-papa. She just stood there, arms folded, her face unreadable behind her dark glasses.

"Hello, I'm Michiru Kaioh, one of Hotaru's parents." She walked up and took Katsuji's hand while shooting Haruka-papa a dirty look. "This is Setsuna Meioh, our housemate and co-parent to Hotaru." Setsuna-mama smiled warmly and shook hands with Katsuji. "Our cousin Hoshiko." More smiling and handshaking. "And you've met Haruka." Haruka-papa just stood there and glowered at him. Michiru-mama just sighed and shook her head.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Katsuji said. "I hope we can get to know each other a bit more today."

"I doubt it." Haruka-papa growled under her breath. Michiru-mama elbowed her in the ribs. He didn't seem to notice as he smiled and went back to join his friends. Kimyo came up beside me again and we all headed into the zoo.

Along the way Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama both started whispering to me while looking at Katsuji.

"He seems to be a really nice boy." Michiru-mama remarked.

"Yeah, has he asked you out yet?" Setsuna-mama asked.

"No, not yet." I replied.

"Good, let's keep it that way." Haruka-papa growled. I love my Papa, I really do, but she does tend to be way too overprotective at times.

"Be nice to the boy dear." Michiru-mama admonished.

"I am being nice." Haruka-papa shot back. "I haven't killed him yet." Note to self: _If, _by some miracle I try to get married, elope. Hoshiko, Kimyo, and her Mom just stared at Haruka-papa. They were wondering if she was serious or not.

Other than Haruka-papa keeping my virtue intact by glaring at **all **the boys in her line of sight, especially Katsuji, the day went rather smoothly. We spent several hours looking at all the animals, laughing at the antics of the monkeys, pretending to be scared of the tigers, marveling at the pandas, etc.

When we got to the petting zoo, Setsuna-mama was reacquainted with an old friend, the same overly affectionate Llama from last year, who, once again, came up and nuzzled her from behind causing her to jump a bit. Yes I took several pictures to prove it.

"He really likes you I see. Any ideas as to where you'll be going on your date?" Haruka-papa was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying herself immensely.

"Shaddap you!" Setsuna-mama growled, red faced, as a giggling Hoshiko helped her to her feet.

As we walked through the large aquatic exhibit, I noticed that Michiru-mama had the same smile and faint look of longing she always got when we come here. People think it's because she really likes the sea creatures. We know for a fact that she actually wants to be in the water, her element, with the sea creatures. Haruka-papa gets the same look when we tour the bird exhibit. She'd love to be in the air with them.

Hoshiko loved the arboretum the most. "All of the different flowers and trees you have here. It reminds me of home." She looked truly happy there.

We sit down for lunch as we talk about the next area on the tour. "Setsuna, if you want to stay out here instead of going inside we won't hold it against you considering what happened last year." Michiru-mama said softly. We were heading for the big Entomology exhibit that had a large collection of cockroaches in it, and Setsuna-mama really hates cockroaches.

"I appreciate what you're saying Michiru, but I really need to face this fear of mine." Setsuna-mama replied. "With everyone's help and support over the last year I've been slowly overcoming it. Now is a good a time as any to face it head on." We'd been helping her get over her fear of cockroaches, and she has been getting better. Although Haruka-papa's hypnosis idea was a big bust. Don't ask you're better off not knowing.

"Are you sure Sets? We don't need you fainting on us again like last year." Haruka-papa said with a worried look.

"I'm positive, as long as you're all with me." Setsuna-mama replied as she took one of my hands in hers and one of Michiru-mama's in the other. Haruka-papa smiled and put her hand on Michiru-mamas and Hoshiko put hers on mine.

"Then let us face it together." Hoshiko said to all of us. We smiled, finished our lunch, and headed for the exhibit, hand in hand.

The five of us trailed behind the rest of the group as we walked through the hall. It was still as creepy as it was from our previous visits the various bugs in their habitats crawling and flying around gave me chills. The dim red lighting didn't help much. I looked up at Setsuna-mama. She was sweating a bit, but she gave me a reassuring smile as we approached the cockroach exhibit.

The exhibit was just like I remember it, a large habitat with a big picture window. Inside were hundreds upon hundreds of cockroaches of all shapes and sizes. I felt Setsuna-mama's grip tighten as I'm sure Michiru-mama, who still held her other hand, did. She stood there rooted to the spot as she stared at the enclosure, sweating profusely. We stood there for what seemed like an hour, but were actually only 3 minutes until we saw that the rest of the group was moving on. Kimyo and her Mom both looked at us, especially Setsuna-mama, with worried expressions. We smiled and Michiru-mama assured them that she was fine and we'd be outside soon.

"Let's go." Setsuna-mama said quietly. She didn't need to tell us twice! Another few minutes of bad mood lighting and creepy-crawlies and we were back outside in the fresh air and sunlight.

"Are you all right Mama?" I asked Setsuna-mama who looked like she was ready to pass out. Haruka-papa went to go find her some water.

"I'm fine Hime-chan, everyone. Thank you." She smiled and gratefully took the bottle of water that Haruka-papa handed her, drinking half of it in one swallow. "I did it." She stated.

"Yes you did and we're so proud of you." Michiru-mama told her as she put her arm around Setsuna-mama's shoulders while I hugged her. Haruka-papa and Hoshiko did the same. Kimyo and her Mom came up at this point.

"Are you all right Setsuna?" Kimyo's Mom asked.

"Yes I'm fine thank you." Setsuna-mama replied.

"That's great. We just wanted to invite you back to our home for dinner and some cake and ice cream afterwards." Kimyo said.

"Will 'that boy' be there?" Haruka-papa growled as she searched around for Katsuji.

Kimyo's Mom laughed. "No, we just wanted the 5 of you over for awhile."

"Is it a chocolate cake?" Setsuna-mama asked hopefully.

Kimyo laughed again. "Of course!"

"Then what are we doing standing around here for? Let's go! Let's go!" She exclaimed impatiently. We all laughed and bid our farewells to the rest of the party. After a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' we headed for the parking lot. Along the way we ran into Katsuji again.

"It was really nice of you to invite me Kimyo. And it was nice to see you here as well Hotaru, along with your family of course." He smiled and bowed to my parents. Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and Hoshiko all smiled warmly while Haruka-papa glowered at him.

"See you at school next week!" He called as he headed back to his friends. I could hardly wait for school next week. I smiled and waved as he and his friends got into a van and left. I turned and found Haruka-papa standing there still glowering.

"We need to talk young lady." She said simply. I sighed, visions of Nunnery's floating in my head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Seven: Friday I.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters. **

I couldn't sleep very well last night after what happened yesterday.

Oh sure, the small gathering at Kimyo's after the trip to the zoo was fun, but it was how Haruka-papa was acting that was bothering me. She was polite enough for the most part, but when Kimyo mentioned Katsuji's name, Haruka-papa bluntly told her to change the subject. Kimyo looked shocked, while both Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama glared at her but said nothing. Luckily Kimyo's Mom and Hoshiko were out of earshot. Kimyo moved on and Haruka-papa went back to being herself, but the ride home was quiet.

When we got home I tried to ask her what was going on but she rebuffed me saying that she was tired and going to bed and left without saying good night. Michiru-mama apologized and assured us that we'd all talk in the morning and went after Haruka-papa. Setsuna-mama, Hoshiko, and I bid each other goodnight and went to our respective rooms. Along the way I could hear Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa arguing, never a good sign. I cried myself to sleep wondering what I had done wrong.

I awoke this morning with a feeling of dread. I showered and put on a black t-shirt and pants like I do every so often when Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama have an argument. Usually they feel so guilty they apologize and make up. I was hoping that it would work again.

The first thing I noticed when I walked into our kitchen was that both Haruka-papa and Hoshiko were missing. I asked Michiru-mama about it.

"Your Papa is taking Hoshiko over to Rei's place. She also said that she'd like to talk to you when she gets back." Michiru-mama replied. _Oh great, she's going to send me to a nunnery after all. _I thought.

"Don't worry Hime-chan your Papa isn't going to send you to a nunnery if I or Setsuna-mama has anything to say about it." Michiru-mama told me reassuringly. I _wish_ she wouldn't do that, it's eerie. Both of them just smiled and we went back to eating breakfast.

A few minutes later I heard Haruka-papa's car pull up and a few moments later she walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning Haruka-papa!" I said as cheerfully as I could as I stood up with my arms out.

"Good morning kiddo." She replied as she hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. Her voice sounded a bit strained and it looked as though she had been agonizing over something all morning. I put it out of my mind as we ate breakfast and talked.

Finally breakfast was over and Haruka-papa turned and looked at me, her face grave. "Hime-chan? Could you go sit in the living room with Setsuna-mama please? I want to talk to you about something, but I need to discuss it with Michiru-mama first, okay sweetie?"

"Okay Papa." I replied as I hugged her and then went into the living room with Setsuna-mama.

"Do you know what's going on Mama?" I asked.

"No I don't Hotaru. I really don't." Setsuna-mama looked worried and that was never a good sign. I could hear Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa talking quietly in the kitchen. I could swear that Haruka-papa was crying as well, or so I thought. I sat in an armchair and picked up a magazine while Setsuna-mama sat nearby on the couch with her book while we waited.

I sat there trying to focus on the magazine but I kept worrying about what was happening. What had I done? Were they going to send me to a nunnery, or a military academy or something? Don't they love me any more? I felt Setsuna-mama's hand on mine as I noticed that I had started to shake a bit.

"Don't worry, Hime-chan. We all still love you and always will."

"Thank you Mama."

At that moment Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama walked into the living room. Michiru-mama was smiling her most reassuring smile while Haruka-papa's expression, well I believed with all my heart that I was going to die an old virgin let's just say.

While Michiru-mama went over and sat beside Setsuna-mama, Haruka-papa sat down on the ottoman in front of me so that we were nearly eye to eye. As she sat there head bowed composing her thoughts, her hands clenching and unclenching in front of her, I saw that she had indeed been crying. I wanted to reach out and embrace her and assure her that everything was all right, like she had done for me lots of times, but Michiru-mama shook her head and mouthed 'not yet'.

Finally though she looked up at me and smiled at me a bit as she reached out and took my hands in hers. Her hands always amazed me. Her hands were rough from working out and using tools all the time. I've seen her punch through wooden doors and thick drywall, or break a man's jaw or send a yoma on its butt. What amazed me though was despite all that her hands could be so gentle when she held me or Michiru-mama without hurting us.

She looked up at me, her eyes boring into mine. "Do you know why I'm so overprotective of you all the time?" I stared at her, caught off guard by the question. I shook my head. She took a deep breath and continued.

"A few years before I met Michiru, and was awakened as Sailor Uranus, I met and fell in love with an older girl. She was beautiful, elegant, sophisticated, and smart. Everything I could have ever wanted. She was a year older than me, and I thought she was the ideal woman. I was well aware that I preferred women to men at that point, and had already had a few encounters with girls by that time but I hadn't come out publicly yet. I had been working in my Uncle's garage, learning about cars so I could become a race car driver when she walked in." She paused and took another calming breath, fighting tears back as she did.

"She was with her Mother to get their car fixed. My Uncle let me look it over and see what was wrong to give me some experience. While my Uncle took her Mom into the office, I was poking around the engine to see what was wrong. At that moment she spoke. 'Do you know what's wrong with it?' She asked."

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I think your radiator hose needs to be replaced and…" I looked over at her and my voice stopped working. She was the most beautiful woman I had seen at that point, long blonde hair, blue eyes, graceful figure, etc. Kind of like Usagi only taller and more elegant and sophisticated. I'm not implying that Usagi isn't elegant or sophisticated by any means, but…I'll stop that train of thought before I get in any deeper." She laughed sheepishly and continued.

"Hi, I'm Katsuki.' She told me.'

"Hi, I'm Haruka.' I replied."

"We soon got to talking and she was very polite and asked me all kinds of questions about what I did and all that. I found myself falling head over heels in love with her. I was starting to babble a bit by this point and my Uncle came back with her Mom to check on my progress. We fixed their car and they left, but not before she slipped her phone number in my pocket along with a note saying to call her on Saturday. You wouldn't believe how happy I was when she did that! I was smiling and waving as they left."

"The rest of the week went by too slowly as far as I was concerned until Saturday came. My hands shook as I called her number, but I managed not to make a complete fool of myself when I asked if she wanted to go see a movie that evening. She agreed, and we arranged to meet at a coffee shop we both knew. I put my least messy clothes on and even managed to get to the shop early. She showed up 10 minutes late, out of breath and apologizing. I told her it was all right. She laughed and we had a wonderful time together."

"Over the next 6 months Katsuki and I did everything together. She also encouraged me to take up playing the piano while she played the guitar. I also formally met her parents and we got along great. The only fly in the ointment was that they all thought I was a boy. Or so I thought."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm getting to that. I had been working up the nerve to kiss her for, well since I met her. We were in the park sitting under a tree and talking and things got heavy as the sun set and we kissed. She smiled and told me I'd made her the happiest girl in the world."

"Oh boy, I can see where this is leading." Setsuna-mama said.

"Yeah, you're right almost. I took a deep breath and told her the truth that I was a girl."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Katsuki just smiled and said that she knew already. 'How did you know?' I asked. She just smiled, placed a finger on my lips and told me that it didn't matter as long as we were together. I was so happy that I kissed her again. I thought everything was perfect. Boy was I wrong."

"Oh no, what do you mean?" I asked, fearing the worst. I noticed that Setsuna-mama was crying a bit. Michiru-mama had tears in her eyes as well, but I guessed she'd heard this story before.

"A few weeks later we made love for the first time and I thought everything was alright and that we'd be together forever. Then I started having the dreams about the world being destroyed and of the messiah. I started having the feeling that what was happening between me and Katsuki was wrong, that we weren't supposed to be together. I tried to deny it but I couldn't and it started to affect me and our relationship. Katsuki tried to understand but couldn't help me. But it didn't matter after what happened next."

"Her parents found out about you two?" Setsuna-mama asked.

"That's putting it mildly. They found us in bed together."

"Oh God." I whispered.

"I don't know what made them angrier, the fact that I was sleeping with their daughter, or that I was a girl. They threw me out and told me never to set foot in their home again and that I was forbidden to see Katsuki again. To make matters worse, they told my parents and they threw me out as well. I moved in with my Uncle, who at that time was the only person who knew that I was a lesbian. I stayed with him until I was ready to move out on my own. He gave me a bunch of money and some stocks and bonds that he had bought in order to help pay for my education. More than enough to pay for my tuition and get an apartment in Tokyo. I thanked him and promised that I would repay him one day. I never got the chance as he died two years later from cancer."

"What happened to Katsuki?" I asked, fearing the worst.

Haruka-papa's head fell forward and she cried. "I never saw her again, and a few months after her parents separated us, I found out that she'd committed suicide. I felt responsible, and I swore from that point onward that I'd never love anyone again and that the only person I could depend upon was myself. I hardened my heart and any relationships I had were basically one night stands. I found out I was wrong again."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I felt her grip tighten.

She looked up at me and smiled. "I met a few special people that managed to break down the walls I had built around my heart. The first was your Michiru-mama of course." She turned and smiled at Michiru-mama who smiled and nodded in approval. "The second was koneko, Usagi." She paused and looked deep into my eyes again and smiled through her tears. "And then there was you Hime-chan." She reached out and ruffled my hair as someone cleared her throat. "Oh and there's your Setsuna-mama of course, can't forget her." She smiled and winked as she stage whispered. "No matter how hard I try." We laughed as Setsuna-mama swatted her with a pillow.

Haruka-papa took a few moments to calm down before she continued. "That's why I try to protect you so much Hotaru. I want you to be happy and not have your life ruined completely. And I want you to be careful and not get hurt by some selfish jerk and have your life ruined. Can you promise me that?"

"I promise Haruka-papa."

"Good girl. No matter what happens, no matter if you choose a boy or a girl to be your special someone, I will always be there for you along with Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama. You are our daughter and we will always love you." She pulled me closer and wrapped me up in her arms, kissing me on the cheek as she did so.

"And I will always love you Papa." I replied, kissing her cheek.

"That's my little girl." Haruka-papa said. "But between you and me, I think you'd be better off with Kimyo. She's a really cute little…"

"PAPA!" I shout as I jump on her, knocking her to the floor. She laughed as I tried to beat her up. Geeze I like Kimyo a lot but not like _that! _I try to tickle her to death instead as me trying to beat her up is kind of futile. Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama were too busy laughing themselves silly to try to come to our rescue.

"Okay! Okay! I give up! I surrender!" Haruka-papa cried as she tried to ward me off. I relented and helped her sit up again. She hugged me close again. Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama joined us and it became one big group hug.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel this calls for a bit of a celebration." Michiru-mama announced. "I think by now Usagi and the others should be down at the Crown by now, shall we go and join them?"

"Yeah!" The rest of us cheered. Michiru-mama laughed and we cleaned up a bit before we left. I got into the front seat beside Haruka-papa and she gave me a smile and a wink before we roared off.

A few minutes later we joined the others at the Crown. Ami, Makoto, Minako and Hoshiko were sitting in our usual booth while Rei was beating Usagi rather badly at some new videogame.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it." Minako called as we approached.

"Is everything all right then?" Hoshiko asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine now." I replied.

"Good, I am happy to hear that." Hoshiko stated. I smiled and hugged her.

"Are you okay Ami?" Setsuna-mama asked. Ami looked even more tired and drawn then she did the other day. Her cousins must have been driving her nuts.

"I think boiling them in oil is too good for them. What do you think?" She asked as she looked up at us with bloodshot eyes. We all stared at her nervously.

"Ah, I think we'll just leave that one alone. Hey Haruka, want to try the new motocross game with me?" Makoto asked.

"Sounds good to me." Haruka-papa replied as she stood and took off her jacket and handed it to Michiru-mama. "Hold on to this. I shouldn't be long." Michiru-mama rolled her eyes but kissed her anyway.

As they moved away Rei and Usagi joined us. "I still say you were cheating Rei." Usagi complained.

"And I still say that you suck at video games." Rei countered. We all sensed a tongue war looming and cleared our throats loudly.

"Oh hey guys!" They said in unison. Phew, another crisis averted. As Usagi and Rei jostled their way into the booth Michiru-mama nudged me and leaned close to whisper in my ear.

"You should really thank Usagi you know." She suggested.

"I will Mama, thank you." With a bit of maneuvering I managed to move over and sit beside Usagi. I then reached out, hugged her, and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"What was that for?" She asked in confusion as I rested my head on her shoulder.

"I wanted to say thank you."

"For what?"

"For helping my Papa when she needed it the most and for just being you." She blinked in confusion for a second then she smiled, put her arm around me and gently kissed me on the head.

"You're so welcome Hotaru." She replied. We stayed there in the Crown for a while and then went to Rei's as one big happy family.


	8. Chapter 8

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Eight: Saturday I.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters.**

Ever had one of those dreams where it's a strong possibility that you watch too much TV?

I had one last night after the five of us sat down and watched a few movies. Haruka-papa chose _Monty Python's Life of Brian, _one of her favorite movies. Soon she, along with Setsuna-mama (!) and I were laughing like mad at the antics on screen, while Michiru-mama just sat there and laughed politely, while Hoshiko sat there alternating between looking shocked and laughing a lot.

"That was rather, ah, different." She commented when the movie ended. Haruka-papa offered to show her the other movies and the entire TV series. Hoshiko's eyes glazed over a bit.

"We'll try to watch as many of them as we can." Michiru-mama stated quickly. Both Haruka-papa and Setsuna-mama looked disappointed.

What about the dream you ask? Well, in my dream I had suddenly become Brian and I was being dragged to see Pontus Pilate by Haruka-papa and Makoto. Of course Pontus Pilate turned out to be Usagi, flanked by Ami and Rei.

"Thwow her to the floor!" Pontus Tsukino directed. And they thwew me to the floor, hard. Yes we did the whole scene, including the 'Stwike her Centurion! Vewy Woughly!' part. I woke up when they started to drag me to be crucified. No more pepperoni pizza for me that's for sure.

I went down for breakfast where Michiru-mama and Hoshiko were there already. Michiru-mama looked at me with concern when I came in. "Did you have a bad dream sweetheart?" She asked. I nodded and told them about it.

"Well we're not ordering pepperoni pizza again, at least not from that place." Michiru-mama commented.

"Hey! That place serves the best pizza in Tokyo." Haruka-papa countered as she came in and kissed Michiru-mama before sitting down.

"Hime-chan had another one of her odd dreams again." Michiru-mama said.

"Uh-oh. Is that 'odd' as in 'the world is about to end', or odd as in 'mild indigestion induced odd'?" Haruka-papa asked.

"The latter." I replied.

"What was this dream about?" Setsuna-mama asked as she walked in, looking a bit sleepy. So I told them.

"Oh-Kay…" Setsuna-mama commented.

"Well, by a strange coincidence I also had a dream involving Usagi last night." Haruka-papa announced with a grin. Here we go again.

"Did it involve 'leather and whips' as Hotaru put in her report from last year?" Hoshiko asked. We each gave her a withering look and she went back to her orange juice.

"Well what did your dream involve Haruka?" Michiru-mama asked as she dramatically cracked her knuckles.

"Ah, I just remembered that it wasn't that interesting after all." Haruka-papa said hastily as she shoveled pancakes into her mouth.

Just then the phone rang and Setsuna-mama got up to answer it. "Hello? Oh hello Yuriko, how are you? Oh, they're still driving you nuts are they? No, I'm afraid we can't help you with that. Yes I'm positive. That we can help with. Hold on I'll ask." She cupped her hand over the receiver. "It's Yuriko (Ami's Mom) she wants us to help take her cousins shopping. That and I think she and Ami need to see some friendly faces."

"Does she want me to try to scare them off?" Haruka-papa asked eagerly.

"That too I think."

"Sure, it's no problem." Michiru-mama said.

Setsuna-mama smiled and went back to talking with Dr. Mizuno. "Yuriko? Hi, they're up for it. So we'll pick you, Ami, and your cousins in an hour or so. Yes Hotaru will be coming too, why? Oh, I see. Yes that could be a problem. You talked to her and she said it was okay? All right then, we'll be there shortly. You too. Bye." Setsuna-mama hung up with a sigh.

"Why was she asking if I was coming along?" I asked.

"Since her cousins have been so beastly to Ami, Yuriko was worried about them upsetting you too much. She called Makoto and asked if she wouldn't mind having you over for a while. Makoto said it was fine, Minako was going to be there as well and they were doing some baking." Setsuna-mama replied.

"I understand. I have no problem going over to Makoto's place."

"May I go with you Hotaru?" Hoshiko asked.

"Sure, I don't mind, and Makoto likes having company over." I replied.

"All right, we'll drop the two of you off and go see if we can help poor Yuriko and Ami." Michiru-mama stated. We got up, grabbed our jackets and wallets and headed for the door. Like clockwork the phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked.

"I know your secret." The voice said.

"Get stuffed." I replied hanging up.

"I see you're developing Haruka's empathy for telemarketers." Setsuna-mama commented.

"Whatever." I muttered. Setsuna-mama smiled as she ruffled my hair and we headed for the van. Twenty minutes later Hoshiko and I were dropped off in front of Makoto's apartment building. We waved as they drove off and then went inside. Makoto buzzed us in and she was waiting for us after we stepped off the elevator. I could smell fresh baked cookies from down the hall and my mouth began to water.

"Hey Hotaru, and Hoshiko!" Makoto called as we approached. She ushered us in and took our jackets. We waved at Minako who was a sight wearing a frilly orange apron and covered with flour. She had a large mixing bowl full of what was either cookie dough or fast-setting cement, I couldn't tell, but the way she was trying to stir it, I thought it was the latter. Artemis wandered out at this moment, trying to brush flour out of his fur.

"Hello Hotaru. Hello Hoshiko." Artemis called out. Minako looked up from the mess she was stirring, a bit startled. Her million-dollar smile came on as soon as she focused on us.

"Heya guys! Come to join the fun?" She called as she tried to stir the mess.

"What is that you are making?" Hoshiko asked pointing at the bowl.

"Well, it's supposed to be chocolate chip cookie dough, but seeing as butterfingers here poured way too much sugar into the mix, I could use it to patch holes in the wall." Makoto said and then ducked as Minako flicked a spoonful of dough at her. Hoshiko and I stepped out of the way.

"See what I mean?" Makoto quipped.

"Do you want to wear this bowl?" Minako growled brandishing her spoon menacingly. We stared at her then cracked up laughing. Minako soon joined us.

"That looks like fun. May we help Makoto?" Hoshiko asked when we had calmed down.

"Sure, grab an apron from the drawer, Hotaru knows where they are, and I'll show you what to do." Makoto said. I grabbed the purple apron I had left here from my bi-weekly cooking lessons from Makoto and a red one for Hoshiko and soon we were baking and talking away. Hoshiko soon got the hang of things and didn't burn her fast batch of cookies, much to her delight. They were delicious too I can say with certainty.

While we were talking and playing rock, paper, scissors to determine who to send to the store to get some more chocolate chips to replace the ones Minako and I ate (well Makoto and Hoshiko had their fair share as well) the buzzer rang and Makoto went over to answer it. Five minutes later she came back with a rather frazzled looking Ami in tow, much to our surprise.

"Hi Ami!" We all said. Ami just grunted, put her laptop bag on the floor and sat on a stool.

"Cousins are still being jerks I take it?" Minako asked as she handed Ami a glass of milk.

"You have no idea." Ami muttered as she gratefully accepted the drink and sipped at it. "I asked Mom if I could come over here instead of going shopping with them. I don't think I could handle my cousins for five more minutes much less a day of shopping with them."

"Why? What's their problem anyway?" I asked.

Ami set her milk down and rubbed her bloodshot eyes before speaking. I could tell she hadn't been sleeping well, and I imagine she'd been crying a lot too. "Where do I start? First of all they have a lot of views on the sanctity of marriage, so my Mom's divorce is a continual topic of conversation. Then adding in the fact that both of them thought that Mom married 'beneath her station', their words not mine, by marrying Dad, an artist. You would have to hear for yourselves their opinions of being a single parent. Oh yes, apparently me having the highest test scores in the country isn't good enough for them either. I shouldn't be hanging out with my low class friends all the time." She took another sip and suddenly slammed her glass down causing us to jump. Tears fell from her eyes now. "I tried to tell them how much I love all of you and I don't want to lose you, but they won't listen." She buried her head in her hands and the five of us were by her side in a flash, comforting her.

"We'll never leave you Ami, not now not ever. I promise you." Makoto stated as she put her arms around Ami's shoulders.

"Yeah we promised to stand by one another no matter what, and we won't let anyone else hurt you." Minako added wrapping her arm around Ami's shoulders as well. Artemis leapt into her lap, adding his support.

"And if someone tries, they'll have to answer to all of us." I put in, clasping her hands.

"And if the others were here, I know they'd say the same thing." Artemis added.

Hoshiko leaned in and placed her hand on Ami's. We could see the fire in her eyes as she spoke. "Ami, everyone, I have not known you for long, but I have come to regard you as my dear friends. So please accept this vow; I shall not allow anybody to hurt or mistreat any of you as long as I live. This I swear upon my life. "

"Thank you. All of you." Ami whispered, smiling through her tears. We embraced her as best as we could until her cries subsided.

"Where's Usagi when we need her?" Minako wondered after a while.

"Yeah, you'd think that the smell of fresh baked cookies alone would have brought her running." Makoto added with a giggle.

"Maybe we should put some in the window and see if she'll come?" I asked. We were starting to giggle like school kids now. Ami was smiling a bit now.

"A new variation on your old 'Sailor Moon Signal'?" Hoshiko asked.

"Hey it worked didn't it?" I shot back. I was trying to sound hurt and angry and failed miserably. Ami's shoulders were shaking now as she had her hands over her mouth.

"It was probably a good thing the police took it down. That was the goofiest looking crescent moon I've ever seen!" Minako cackled.

"Not to mention that DC Comics could have sued you for copyright infringement." Artemis added.

"Ohh, I'll show you copyright infringement!" I growled as I reached for Artemis. Ami finally gave in and fell off her chair from laughing so hard. We caught her and laid her on the floor.

"Dog pile on Ami!" Minako shouted. Ami screamed as me, followed in order by Minako, Hoshiko, and finally Makoto piled on top of her. Poor Artemis was between me and Ami, so he got squashed pretty well. He told me later that he enjoyed himself. Hentai cat. We were laughing and rolling around when we finally heard our communicators go off. Go figure.

Makoto managed to scramble off the top of the pile and compose herself long enough to answer while the rest of us helped each other to our feet.

"It's about damn time!" I heard Haruka-papa shout angrily. Something blew up in the distance and I could hear screaming and running feet. You know what that means; _it's Showtime!_

"What's wrong?" Minako asked.

"We have a yoma at the mall! What the hell do you think I'm calling about? A big sale? Quit having an orgy and get down here, now!" Haruka-papa shouted before signing off. My Haruka-papa, I love her _so _much sometimes. Ami and Hoshiko both turned bright red and started having coughing fits while Minako giggled. I could feel my own face growing hot.

"Umm, yeah, what you said." Makoto commented. "Shall we transform?"

"You bet!" We shouted. Within seconds Makoto, Ami, Minako, and I all stood there in our Sailor fukus ready for action.

"I will accompany you if I may." Hoshiko stated. We turned and saw that she had changed into her armor as Sailor Galaxia.

"Whoa." Minako and Makoto whispered in awe. Artemis just stared wide-eyed.

"Maybe you'd better stay back and let us handle it Hoshiko." I said. I hoped I didn't sound as nervous as I felt.

"Or at least stay in reserve in case we need you. It might be hard to explain the sudden appearance of another Sailor Senshi." Ami, ever the quick thinker, added.

Hoshiko nodded. "Very well. I see your point. May I at least transport us all there then?" We nodded and joined hands. Hoshiko smiled as I took one hand and Ami the other before closing her eyes. A golden glow appeared around all of us and within seconds we were at the mall.

We had appeared behind a fountain so no one saw us arrive as most of the people had fled or were hiding. Hoshiko nodded and melted into the shadows while the rest of us fanned out to assess the situation.

Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama were engaged in combat with a 12 foot tall Minotaur-like creature. It looked like the creature from the Greek myths except that this one was vaguely female. I could see the entrance where it had come crashing in from outside. It had come bursting in from outside Michiru-mama would tell us later, leaving a pile of trashed vehicles and shattered glass in its wake. From there it proceeded to charge at anything or anybody that moved. My parents had the creature backed up against a wall and they had done a fair amount of damage to it. But they looked tired and were glad to see us.

"About damn time!" Haruka-papa shouted as we approached. Okay, mostly glad. Ami had her visor on and was scanning as we fanned out. The creature snorted and eyed us warily as we faced it, but otherwise it stayed where it was.

"What, you looked like you were having fun." Makoto shot back.

"Where are the others?" Michiru-mama asked.

"Right here." Mamoru replied as he, Usagi, Rei, and Luna ran up.

"Geeze that thing is ugly! Not to mention it stinks!" Usagi stated while waving a hand in front of her face. The creature turned in her direction and snorted louder.

"Stop moving!" Setsuna-mama hissed. "Sudden movement attracts it!" Usagi gulped and stood still.

"Where are…?" Ami began fearfully.

"They're safe." Michiru-mama assured her, indicating a nearby book store with her eyes. I could see several people including Ami's Mom and two people whom I guessed were her cousins, an older man and woman, peering out nervously along with a few others including a few small kids.

"Mercury?" Usagi asked.

"Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto weakened it quite a bit already. A few more good shots should…" Ami was cut off by several voices shouting for someone to stop. A four year old boy in a blue t-shirt and shorts had wandered out of a store crying for his Mama. The creature saw his movement and prepared to charge.

"Uranus! Grab the boy!" Mamoru shouted. Haruka-papa sprinted forward and scooped up the boy just as the Minotaur started to charge.

"Saturn!" Usagi shouted.

"Silence Wall!" I shouted and the creature slammed into the barrier. Haruka-papa ran into the store and handed the child to Ami's Mom before drawing her sword and running back outside.

"Get ready to drop the shield Saturn!" Ami commanded. I nodded as everyone powered up.

"Now!" I dropped the shield and everyone released their attacks. The creature was engulfed in energy and it roared in pain as it writhed. Suddenly it charged our line again and Rei and Usagi barely leapt out of its path as it charged towards the doorway it had came in the first time.

"Don't let it get out!" Rei cried. A golden ball of energy flew out of a darkened corner and struck the creature in the chest knocking it on its butt. We turned and saw Hoshiko nodding in satisfaction from the shadows. We owed her a big thank you for that.

"Now Sailor Moon!" Ami cried. Usagi blasted it with her Tier and soon the Minotaur was dust.

"Score another one for the good guys!" Minako cheered as we gathered around Usagi, congratulating each other as we did so. Several dozen people soon ran out of the stores to thank us and we shook hands and hugged several people. I noticed Ami being hugged by her Mom while their cousins stood by in shock. Soon Dr. Mizuno had hugged everybody including me.

"Come by our home later." She whispered while she hugged me. I hugged her back and soon we said farewell to our grateful public as the police, fire department, and paramedics started coming in. We found Hoshiko, joined hands, and went back to Makoto's now very cramped apartment.

"All right! Cookies!" Usagi shouted as soon as we materialized and undid our transformations. We laughed and each of us managed to snag one or two before she ate them all. Soon we were spread out around the apartment talking, laughing, and baking again as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you for helping us when you did Hoshiko." Luna said after awhile.

"Yeah you really came through when we needed you." Rei added.

"Thank you my friends. Your words mean so much to me." Hoshiko replied through tears of joy.

Ami came up and hugged her. "I'm the one who should be thanking you for saving my Mom's life. And my cousin's too I guess." She added ruefully. Just then the phone rang. Makoto told us to be quiet while she answered it.

"Ami? It's your Mom." She said after a minute. Ami nodded and took the receiver.

"Are you all right? That's good. We're all okay here Mom. How are…? Really? They are? Thank God! I couldn't handle them for a minute longer! Okay we'll be there soon. I love you too Mom. Bye." She hung up the phone and let out a loud whoop of delight before catching herself and blushing as she smiled at us. That's our Ami.

"My Mom just told me that she's okay." She announced.

"What about your cousins?" Setsuna-mama asked.

"She just told me that they were leaving. They think that Tokyo's way too dangerous for them and they're heading back home where it's safe." We all cheered at the news. "Oh yes, and you're all invited back to our place for dinner." More cheering.

"All right then. If Hoshiko will teleport us back to the mall so we can get the van, we'll meet the rest of you there." Michiru-mama said. Hoshiko smiled and nodded. Makoto tried to gather as many cookies as she could to bring with her to Ami's while everyone else got ready. Soon my parents, Hoshiko, and I were back near the mall parking lot.

"Papa? What were you asking earlier? Something about an orgy?" I asked while Haruka-papa was digging for her keys while munching on a cookie she had swiped. She nearly gagged while Michiru-mama glared at her. Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko stood back and giggled.

"Yes I'd like to know too." Michiru-mama said ominously. Haruka-papa just swallowed hard and got into the van. She was very quiet for the whole trip to Ami's.

Soon between Ami's Mom, Makoto, and Michiru-mama we were sitting down to a nice supper. Dr. Mizuno thanked us for saving her life and the lives of the others who were trapped in the mall. And yes the boy we saved was reunited with his Mama. A good day's work all around.

"Is everybody ready for the wedding tomorrow?" Ami asked after a while. Everyone said that they were. Each of us had a new dress or suit ready and waiting for tomorrow. And with the weather promising to be nice and sunny, tomorrow promised to be an ideal day for a wedding. We'd been waiting for this day for months and hoped everything would go off without a hitch.

AN: Who's getting married you ask? That would be telling but here's a hint: it is the culmination of events in at least two of my other stories.


	9. Chapter 9

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Nine: Sunday II.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters. And you'll probably want to read my stories Family Ties and Parent-Teacher Day for this chapter to make a bit more sense. **

The day we'd been waiting for was finally here; the wedding of Dr. Kazuyuki Mori and Miss Sakurada Haruna.

A little background here, Miss Haruna was the teacher who assigned the first report on my family that I did last year. She is also one of my favorite teachers and a good friend of my parents. Before she moved to my middle school, she worked at the middle school that Usagi, Ami, and Makoto attended.

She met Dr. Mori under less than ideal circumstances. You see during my first year of middle school, three years ago (yes Ami I am studying for my High School entrance exams) Setsuna-mama and I were in a car accident. We were driving home from the movie theatre when we were hit by a drunk driver. Setsuna-mama sustained a broken arm, while I sustained a broken arm, leg, a few ribs, and a concussion that put me in a coma for nearly three months. It was a very trying time that nearly tore our family apart since Setsuna-mama felt responsible for what happened and was ready to leave and go back the Gates of Time forever. But my family rallied together and I came out of the coma and made a full recovery. And the man who hit us was put in jail where he still is today.

Dr. Mori was Setsuna-mama's attending physician. He met Miss Haruna when Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama were visiting Setsuna-mama and I at the hospital. Miss Haruna had come to see me and had bumped into them coming out of the elevator. The story they tell me is that the two of them collided and she dropped the bouquet she'd been carrying. He apologized profusely and picked it up and handed it back to her. Michiru-mama introduced them and she told me that the two seemed to be smitten with one another right away. They ran into one another during a few more of her visits, and one day he asked her out for coffee and it went from there. They'd been dating for over six months by the time my parents went to parent-teacher day and I'd made a full recovery. This was just after the events in my first report, the carefully edited version which I got an A for. The following night after the interview he proposed to her and she said yes, which leads us to today.

Their wedding was held in a nice little chapel near the river and attended mostly by their family and friends and several of Miss Haruna's former students. It was a fabulously beautiful day for a wedding as well, sunny, hardly a cloud in the sky, and not too hot.

The five of us dressed in our 'Sunday best', a navy blue suit and a somewhat colorful tie for Haruka-papa, a short sleeved aquamarine dress with knee-length skirt for Michiru-mama, a garnet colored jacket and skirt with a white blouse for Setsuna-mama, a gold and red dress we'd found for Hoshiko the other day, and a long-sleeved purple dress for me. We made sure we had everything, cameras, gifts, tissues, etc, before heading out in Haruka-papa's car.

Slight digression: if you remember last year's report, we'd gone to Michiru-mama's parents' wedding anniversary and I think you know how _that_ went. This year they didn't need much convincing to go on an anniversary cruise.

We pulled into the chapel's parking lot and saw that there was a good crowd there already. Luckily Miss Haruna had arranged things that we'd be sitting near the front along with Usagi and the others.

"Hi guys!" Speaking of Usagi, she'd managed to beat us here along with Mamoru, her parents, Kenji and Ikuko, along with her younger brother Shingo, and Luna as well.

"Hello Usagi, Luna, and its nice to see you here as well Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, and Shingo too of course." Michiru-mama replied as we bowed to them.

"Please, feel free to call us Kenji and Ikuko. We've known each other for a long time now." Mr. Tsukino replied.

"Of course Kenji, please forgive us." Setsuna-mama said.

"Hello Hotaru, it's good to see you again." Mrs. Tsukino smiled as she hugged me. I'd always liked Mrs. Tsukino ever since I met her, and she went out of her way to make me feel welcome when I went to their home. She'd always been concerned with my health and was quite happy to know that I am far stronger physically than I was when we first met.

Mr. Tsukino greeted me warmly as well. I don't know him as well as Mrs. Tsukino, but he's a really nice guy, although he's as overprotective towards Usagi and Shingo as Haruka-papa is to me. It's a good thing but it can get embarrassing sometimes.

Shingo's gotten a bit better since we first met. He isn't as much of a brat as he used to be, although Usagi vehemently disagrees with me. He doesn't bug me and the others like he used to. Granted Haruka-papa and Makoto stuffing him in the closet or the laundry hamper a few times might have helped.

"And you must be Hoshiko whom Usagi has been telling us about." Mr. Tsukino said as he and Mrs. Tsukino went up to her. She smiled warmly and shook hands with both of them. I had to laugh a bit when I noticed Shingo staring at her in awe. I imagine that he thought that she looked like one of the supermodels in the magazines that Usagi told me he had 'secretly' stashed in his room. Mrs. Tsukino nudged him a bit and he managed to stammer out a greeting. Hoshiko laughed politely.

We started to head into the chapel and ran into Ami, her Mom, Makoto, Minako, Rei, and Artemis. Rei's Grandpa was a bit under the weather and couldn't come, while Minako's parents couldn't make it for whatever reason. All of us went in and were directed towards the pews that were reserved for us. Along the way we waved to Kimyo and her Mom who were sitting a few rows behind us. We'd hook up at the reception. I saw several of my classmates, and Usagi talked quickly with her old friends Naru Osaka and Umino Gurio.

On the other side of the chapel, I saw several people whom I guessed were Dr. Mori's friends, family, and most likely his fellow doctors. I'd only met him a few times after I came out of my coma, but he was a great guy and he and Miss Haruna loved each other so much. We quickly settled into our seats, our group in front, with Usagi's family and Ami's Mom behind us. Soon after that the wedding started.

This was actually their second wedding. Last week they held a very traditional Japanese wedding at a temple near Dr. Mori's hometown, Hiroshima. It was attended only by members of their respective families. Miss Haruna told us that it was a very beautiful experience. She'd given me a picture of her and Dr. Mori in their kimonos as a keepsake.

This wedding was more of a traditional western wedding. A priest came up and welcomed all of us and said a few words before the groom and his party came out. Dr Mori was flanked by his brothers and his best friend, all doctors. Soon after that the organist began playing 'Here comes the Bride.'

A young flower girl, Miss Haruna's niece came out first, followed by her nephew, the ring bearer. They were followed by the Bridesmaids, her younger sister acting as Maid of Honor and a pair of her closest friends and fellow teachers. One was Higure Akiyama (Usagi's former home economics teacher), and another teacher from my school. Then Miss Haruna came out with her Uncle who was giving her away. She was wearing a beautiful white wedding gown that Setsuna-mama had designed and Miss Akiyama had created for her. She looked absolutely radiant, and more than a bit nervous, as she approached the altar. She went up and took Dr. Mori's hand, he whispered something that made her giggle until the pastor cleared his throat and the wedding began in earnest.

I chanced a look at my parents and the others. Michiru-mama was crying a bit and snuggling up to Haruka-papa while Usagi was doing the same with Mamoru. Setsuna-mama smiled and clasped my hand and I did the same with Hoshiko who had a sad look on her face. She looked at me and smiled a bit. Minako, Rei, Ami, and Makoto all had smiles and dreamy expressions. Luna was rolling her eyes a bit as Artemis was crying and burying his face in Minako's lap.

Finally after they had exchanged vows, the pastor asked 'if there was anyone who objected to this union let them speak now or forever hold their peace.' Haruka-papa and Makoto looked around the chapel as if they were daring anyone to do so, which earned them a gentle nudge from Michiru-mama and Ami respectively. I noticed Miss Haruna's Mom in the front row doing the same. Seeing as no one objected the pastor continued.

"Then by the power invested in my by our lord God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Several flashbulbs went off as Dr. Mori proceeded to do just that.

We all watched as the newly married couple walked down the aisle together. There was a bit of shuffling going on in our pew as the rest of us tried desperately to disavow the four drama queens at the end of our pew. We had moved over so much that I was now in Haruka-papa's lap while Ami was in Makoto's. Each of us silently agreed that the strange foursome at the end of the pew would not be invited to our own weddings.

"They look so beautiful!" Usagi, Minako, Michiru-mama, and Artemis all wailed together. Sigh, we don't know them.

Soon we were gathered outside again as the bride and groom made their way to the car with all of us cheering, tossing rice, and wishing them well. The two posed for pictures beside the limo that would take them to the reception and then it was time for Mrs. Mori to throw the bouquet. Most of the ladies gathered in a group in anticipation of catching it. Haruka-papa, Ami, Luna, Artemis, and I, along with a few others stood aside to watch the fun. Hoshiko was even getting into the spirit of things as she stood beside Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama near the front of the group.

"Everybody ready?" Mrs. Mori shouted.

"Yeah!"

"All right then! On three. One. Two. Three!" With that she tossed the bouquet into the crowd and an impromptu volleyball game ensued. Beside me Haruka-papa laughed and filmed the whole thing as the bouquet was batted around until it flew upwards again and landed into someone's unsuspecting hands. You'll never guess whose.

"HOTARU!" Aww, you guessed. I heard Haruka-papa, Ami, Luna, and Artemis loose it completely beside me as I stared at the flowers in my hands. My face was so red at that moment you could have mistaken me for a stoplight. I looked up slowly and saw the others glaring at me. I swallowed, grinned and offered the bouquet to Michiru-mama or Usagi who were at the front of the crowd. Everyone laughed a bit and the crowd dispersed. With a cheery wave the happy couple and a few others got into the first limo and sped off for the reception. Soon the rest of us got into our respective vehicles and headed for the reception.

The reception was being held at a nice hotel in downtown Tokyo, not the same hotel from last year though. That would've been too creepy. Anyway we parked in the underground garage and headed upstairs where the receptionist directed us to the ballroom where the reception was being held.

We could hear music from down the hall as we approached and Kimyo and her Mom were just heading in as we approached. Soon we were seated at adjoining tables. My family, Hoshiko, Kimyo, her Mom, Ami, Dr. Mizuno, Makoto and I were at one table, while Usagi, Rei, Minako, Mamoru, Naru, Umino, and Usagi's family were at the other. Luna and Artemis were snuck in via their 'owners' large handbags. We were each given a small menu to choose from along with a glass of water and our choice of beverage and we were soon settling in.

A short time later the speeches and toasts began. Unlike the anniversary party from last year, these speeches, well it was more like a roast to be honest, were quite entertaining. Dr. Mori's best man, his older brother, regaled us with a funny story of his brother's first year in medical school where he pulled more than a few pranks on his baby brother, while a few others praised both of them for their hard work and dedication. Both the bride and groom said a few words as well. Mrs. Mori even added a joke promising that all of her students, both past and present, would be receiving extra credit for showing up, provided they handed in an essay on it next week. Once a teacher, always a teacher I guess.

Finally after the speeches and a great lunch, the music began playing and Mr. and Mrs. Mori stepped out to the floor to the tune of 'Annie's Song'. After that several other couples including Usagi and Mamoru and Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa went out onto the floor as well.

After Kimyo went over to chat with a few of our other classmates, I turned and saw Hoshiko sitting there staring off into space with a sad expression.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I am all right little one." She replied as she sipped her water. "I am thinking of things that happened long ago."

"Like what?"

"Many years ago when I was the guardian of my home galaxy, I was actively courted by many people. Kings and Princes, the wealthy and powerful, many sought my hand in marriage." She smiled a bit at that. I envied her a bit, she is a very beautiful woman and I could picture many would-be suitors lining up to try their luck.

"It sounds like a fairy tale come true." Minako sighed as she, Rei, Ami, Makoto and Setsuna-mama listened in.

"It was I suppose." Hoshiko agreed. "But there was one man who had captured my heart. He was a humble architect who had designed several of my world's most beautiful buildings. He had designed palaces, churches, a few homes, and a few hospitals as well. I met him when a painting I had done was going to be put on permanent display in a building he had designed."

"Wait a moment, you can paint?" Rei asked.

"Yes during that time I liked to relax by painting the seashores of my world, much like Michiru does. I was regarded almost as highly for my artistic accomplishments as I was for my fighting skills." Hoshiko replied. "I went to the reception at the building, a school for the arts, where my painting was put in prominent display. As I looked around I saw this incredibly handsome man standing with the city elders admiring my painting. The city leaders saw me approach and they thanked me for my generous donation. I barely heard them as I was transfixed by his deep blue eyes and handsome face. He was staring as intently at me as I was at him. Finally one of the elders stopped his speech and noticed us. He smiled and introduced the two of us."

"What happened then?" Minako asked breathlessly.

"He smiled warmly at me and asked if I was the one who painted the picture we were looking at. I told him that I was and said; 'The beauty of the painting is only surpassed by the beauty of the artist herself.' I could feel my head go light at this I assure you."

"Aww, that's so romantic." The rest of us said together. Hoshiko laughed and continued. Usagi and Mamoru had rejoined us while Usagi's parents, Kimyo's Mom, and Dr. Mizuno had gone up to chat with the bride and groom. Shingo was off talking with some people he knew so no one was listening in.

"We shared a wonderful meal together that night, and promised that we would meet again. We had several 'dates' as you call them as time and circumstances allowed. We were soon well in truly in love and thinking about marriage. I was also ready to conceive a child and heir." Her smile disappeared and tears began falling from her eyes as she spoke. "Then Chaos came."

"No." Ami whispered. We all feared for what was about to happen.

"I fought Chaos many times over several months and was getting nowhere. What was worse it seemed to be getting stronger. I fought with every ounce of my being, drawing strength from my love, but it was not enough. Finally I tried one final, desperate gambit. I trapped Chaos within me thinking that my power and my will would keep it sealed forever. I was such a damned fool and soon others would pay for my hubris." The room seemed to grow cold at her words and she struggled to keep from breaking down completely.

"I felt the monster's influence grow daily but I tried to ignore it. Gods I was so stupid! My love tried to comfort me and it worked for a short time, but the creature was continually whispering in my thoughts, telling me hateful, ugly things. I ignored them as well, but then it started to make me doubt my love. It told me that my lover was unfaithful and should be punished. I refused to listen but it hammered me relentlessly, never ceasing. I tried to deny it until the pain grew unbearable. Then one day I came home to find him sitting down to tea with another woman. I felt a sudden overpowering rage fill me and I started shouting wild accusations at him. He tried to deny them but I was beyond reasoning, the creature was taking over. The woman was crying and begging me to stop, but I struck her. My love demanded that I stop, but I laughed. 'Here is the penalty for unfaithfulness!' I screamed, and destroyed them both."

"Oh my God no." Mamoru whispered.

"Who was the woman?" I asked.

"It was his sister. I had just destroyed the man I loved and his sister. I wanted to die right there but the creature would not let me. They became my first victims, the first of many before I was finally freed of the monster's influence." She smiled as Usagi hugged her tightly. "But it does not erase the guilt I feel. Or the pain of their loss."

"Hoshiko." Usagi began. "You weren't responsible for what happened. It was Chaos that made you do those things. You will be carrying that burden of guilt with you for a long time, but as long as you don't let it consume you, you'll be fine. And keep the good memories of your love alive, for they are truly precious. And remember; you will always have friends to help you share your burden and help ease your pain no matter what. You will never be alone."

Hoshiko was crying as she hugged Usagi. "Thank you my friend. Thank all of you."

"Hey, what's going on?" A voice cut in. We turned and saw Mrs. Mori coming up to us along with Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa. We introduced Hoshiko and apologized a bit, telling her that her fiancé had died in an accident a few years ago. A slight lie but Mrs. Mori seemed to buy it as she placed a sympathetic hand on Hoshiko's shoulder.

"I am sorry to ruin your wedding with my troubles. Perhaps I should leave now." Hoshiko said.

"No, please stay. I insist." Mrs. Mori stated. "I don't know you but what I can tell you is that you won't find a more understanding, more loving group of friends than Usagi and company here. They'll stick by you through any crisis, big or small. I'm proud to know them and you should be as well. So please, just relax and enjoy yourself okay?"

Hoshiko smiled at her. "Thank you Mrs. Mori, I will try."

Mrs. Mori blushed a bit. "Just call me Sakurada, please. It's going to take me a long time to get used to being called 'Mrs. Mori'."

Hoshiko laughed. "I understand. Thank you Mrs.… I am sorry, Sakurada."

"That's better." Mrs. Mori said. Then she leaned in close to me. "Is the rest of your family like that?" She asked.

"She's from Haruka-papa's side of the family." Setsuna-mama replied. Mrs. Mori nodded in comprehension.

"You are so going to get it Setsuna." Haruka-papa growled. We laughed.

Soon Hoshiko relaxed a bit and was back to her charming and entertainingly naive self as she went back to asking all sorts of questions about rituals and customs as the party went into high gear.

"Excuse me Miss? Would you care to dance?" A tall blonde haired man asked Hoshiko. Beside him, another man asked Setsuna-mama the same question. Both of them stared at their suitors in surprise, and then developed identical starry eyed looks as they stared at the two dreamboats (Minako's words not mine. Really).

We pushed the two of them to their feet and soon they were dancing away. Luckily Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama had given Hoshiko a few quick dancing lessons last night, not that she needed them as she seemed to be quite capable in that regard. Yes I got to dance too, even if it was with either Mamoru or Haruka-papa. I only stepped on Mamoru's feet once, honest.

After one dance a few of us were sitting at the table watching everyone else when there came a loud crash from behind us. We turned and saw that a boy of about 13 had suddenly fallen flat on his face. He turned over and started undoing his shoe laces that had been mysteriously been tied together, presumably by the dark-haired 6 year old girl who was sitting there giggling. Somehow she seemed oddly familiar and I pointed her out to a few of the others. Hoshiko just sat there and sipped her water, smiling mysteriously.

"Isn't that…?" Rei began as we looked at the girl. Her long black hair was tied in a long ponytail and her movements were vaguely cat-like as she wandered around trying to cause more mischief.

"Sailor Tin Nyanko!" Ami exclaimed. We looked harder and saw that it was indeed one of the former Animamate who served under the formerly evil Galaxia. We turned to Hoshiko who sat there looking very pleased.

"You brought her to Earth?" Makoto asked.

"No I left her Star Seed here to be reborn along with a few others to give them a second chance. By happenstance the others are here as well." She looked around the room a bit. "Ah and here is the other three now." She nodded in another direction and we followed her gaze.

I looked around and saw a young boy who looked like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else. The reason for his discomfort was a tiny little girl with white hair who was snuggling up to him. She looked like a cute little mouse with her hair done up like it was I thought, then it hit me. It was Sailor Iron Mouse, another Animamate. I turned and saw Hoshiko's nod of confirmation. Then she pointed at another table. I looked over and I saw a pretty young girl with light blue hair and a large plate of food in front of her. She was being harassed by a few older boys and one of them deliberately spilled something on her dress, causing her to cry. Most of us were about to head over to give those boys an attitude adjustment on the spot but were saved the trouble when a tall girl with long dark hair and a deep tan like Setsuna-mama's came up and chased them away. After that she came and sat beside the other girl and helped her dry her tears and clean up the mess a bit. The blue haired girl smiled warmly at the dark haired one and the two stuck together. Sailor Aluminum Siren and Sailor Lead Crow, two of the other Animamates.

Usagi smiled and placed a hand on Hoshiko's shoulder. "We'll look after them."

"I know you will." Hoshiko replied. "They deserve a second chance after everything that happened. I hope that they will be happy here."

"They will be. I'm sure of it." I assured her. She smiled gratefully.

"Well, with that settled, I think it's time for us to go home." Haruka-papa said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Spring Break is almost over and it's time to go back to school." Setsuna-mama replied.

"Aw man. Did you have to remind me?" I groaned as I sank into my chair. My parents and Hoshiko laughed and we parted company. I went over to Kimyo who had just gotten a similar reminder from her Mom. We both sighed and went up to say our final farewells to the happy couple before heading home.

"Now remember Hotaru, I expect you to do as good, if not better on this report than you did last year." Miss Haruna said, back in full teacher mode. I groaned, thinking that I was now required to disarm a nuclear bomb while blindfolded and said as much. She laughed.

"Don't worry, no matter what your report says I'll always be proud of you." She said. I smiled and hugged her and her husband before leaving with my family.


	10. Chapter 10

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe. **

**Chapter 10: Monday II.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters. **

True to Haruka-papa's word, Monday had indeed arrived, which meant that it was time for me to head back to school.

There are a few things about school that I really enjoy, such as seeing Kimyo and all my other friends again so we can compare notes on our individual reports so far.

"Hey Hotaru!" A girl in my class named Risa shouted. "I didn't see you on the news last week saving a high-jacked airplane or anything like that! What happened?"

"I was in South America doing some top secret work for the C.I.A. that I can't tell you about because then I'd have to kill you." I replied in my most menacing voice. Then Kimyo and I cracked up followed by everyone else. I gave them a watered down version of last weeks events including a few pictures from Miss Haruna's wedding for the benefit of a few people who couldn't make it.

In one case for instance, a classmate of mine named Masaya couldn't make it because he was out of town competing in the All-Japan Junior Superbike competition in which he managed to come in second. He proudly showed us his medal and several pictures including one of him and his girlfriend shaking hands with the winner, a guy named Sentaro and his girlfriend, a pretty young girl with long black hair.

Mr. Tanaka, who had assigned the report in the first place, also expressed concern that I hadn't single-handedly stopped a bank robbery or something like that. Of course he said it in front of the whole class just to make me feel better (note the sarcasm). Maybe I should have gotten up and changed into Sailor Saturn right then and there, but I doubt it would have solved anything.

I also ran into Katsuji, who was about the only person in school who didn't ask me why I hadn't done anything to make the news last week. We sat down and had lunch together and he asked me about how the wedding went and how my family was and all that. In between gazing into his eyes and trying to remember to either eat or breathe (not recommended to do both at the same time) I told him about the wedding, my family, and my week in general.

He did express some concern that he and Haruka-papa had gotten off on the wrong foot and that he'd like very much to sit down with her and try to smooth things over.

"I'll see what I can do." I replied noncommittally. Actually I knew what would most likely happen if I suggested what Katsuji said; Haruka-papa would get really upset and go looking for him with her sword in hand, Michiru-mama would get angry and yell at her, Setsuna-mama would also get angry and tell them both to shut up while poor Hoshiko would get totally confused and start crying. And of course I'd be at the nearest Convent the next day.

Katsuji just smiled at me reassuringly and told me that it would all work out and that I shouldn't worry so much. But the bell rang at that moment which kind of broke the mood. Before he headed for his next class though, he reached out and took my hand, kissing the back of it.

"Until tomorrow then milady." He smiled and headed for his next class while I stood there rooted to the spot. I was never washing this hand again.

"Wow! I guess that means he really likes you then." Kimyo commented as she came up behind me.

"I guess so…waitaminute! Were you listening in?" I snapped out of my stupor and glared at her.

"Um, whoops! Look at the time! Must run! Bye!" She ran off and I took off after her.

"Kimyo! I'm gonna kill you!" I shouted as I chased her into our gym class. I chased her all the way out to the middle of the gym floor where we were stopped by our gym teacher. She didn't look happy either.

"Well Miss Tomoe, Miss Hoshi, seeing as you both has an excess amount of energy to burn off, what say you run a few extra laps as a warm-up?" Kimyo and I groaned and meekly went into the change room to prepare for that day's torture session.

Other than that, my first day back to school went pretty well and I was tired but happy when I got on the bus to go home. Kimyo and I sat together and we noticed our old 'friends' Megumi and Keiko sitting there glowering at us but we just ignored them. Luckily they got off before we did and it was a quiet trip to my stop where I said bye to Kimyo before heading home.

As I walked up to my home, I saw a strange car parked out front a blue Honda station wagon and I wondered whose it was since we don't own such a car. I knew that Haruka-papa was at the race track and Setsuna-mama was at work leaving Michiru-mama and Hoshiko at home. So who could it be?

"Mama? Hoshiko? I'm home!" I called as I entered our home.

"We're in the kitchen honey!" Michiru-mama called back. I took off my shoes and headed into the kitchen, and was surprised at who I saw there. Sitting at the table along with Michiru-mama and Hoshiko were Dr. Mizuno and Mrs. Tsukino. Both of them said hello as I walked in.

"Hi, what brings you here?" I asked as I walked over and sat beside Michiru-mama.

"Well I just went out for a drive and I ran into Ikuko at the store and after we sat and had coffee, we decided to drop by and visit with your parents." Dr. Mizuno replied.

"It was my idea actually." Mrs. Tsukino admitted. "I don't get over here all that much and I wanted to after seeing all of you at Sakurada's wedding. Nothing much, I just wanted to say hello."

"What about your job at the hospital?" I asked Dr. Mizuno as she sipped at her tea.

"Hmm? Oh, they gave me two weeks off as 'stress leave', with pay of course." She replied smiling. I could imagine, from Ami's accounts and from what my parents said her cousins were driving them nuts.

"That was very nice of them." Hoshiko put in.

"Yes, I agree, it was nice of them to give you two weeks off. I only met your cousins once and they were positively ghastly people." Mrs. Tsukino said with a shudder.

"It gives me a lot of time to spend with Ami, which is really good for both of us." Dr. Mizuno said, smiling.

"That's wonderful. I'm glad that everything's worked out okay." I said as I reached for a cookie. This was when I noticed what else was sitting on the table and my heart sank.

"Aw Mama! Did you have to bring out the baby pictures?" I heard myself whine as I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. Everyone else laughed and there was a chorus of 'Aww, doesn't little Hotaru look cute with her cheeks all red?' I tell you, I was this close to pulling out my glaive and ending the suspense right there.

"What's wrong with them? I always thought that you were such an adorable little baby." Michiru-mama said with a big smile as she held up a particularly vivid picture of me in the bath gleefully splashing Haruka-papa.

"And I thought that this one was particularly nice." Hoshiko stated as she held up a picture of me playing in the mud. I sank lower in my chair. There really should be some sort of treaty banning mothers from showing any passing person their kids' baby pictures.

Michiru-mama put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't feel bad Hime-chan, my Mother likes to show off my baby pictures at the drop of a hat so I know exactly how you feel." I remembered the many times Grandma Kaioh showed Michiru-mama's baby pictures. The many, many, _many_, times.

"We like to see how are children were like as babies as compared to how they are now. It's our way of keeping those precious memories alive in our hearts." Dr Mizuno said.

"It's a reminder that our children are a truly precious gift and we'd like to preserve those memories forever as we watch them grow." Mrs. Tsukino added. I smiled, I could see their point. "One day you'll understand." Mrs. Tsukino added.

Michiru-mama smiled wistfully as she looked at me as if she were taking my picture with the camera in her mind. "Hotaru, I have watched you grow from a cute little baby into a beautiful young woman, and even though you aren't of my flesh and blood, you will always be my little baby girl now and forever." She leaned in and kissed me on the forehead.

"Thank you Mama. I guess I needed to hear that." I said.

"If it makes you feel a bit better Hotaru, Yuriko and I each brought along our own baby pictures of Usagi, Shingo, and Ami. We were talking and showing each other a few pictures while we were having coffee and we both went home and picked up a few more of our own pictures before coming here." Mrs. Tsukino stated as she held up a picture, I assumed, of a very young Usagi. I wasn't too sure until I saw the hair. It was her all right, even with her face and dress covered with chocolate ice cream. I giggled. Dr. Mizuno showed me a picture of a tiny Ami in a blue dress, wearing her Mom's reading glasses, reading a huge medical journal upside down. Now if I were a less scrupulous person, I'd be having ideas involving blackmail right now. Dr. Mizuno's voice brought me out of my scheming trance.

"I left a message on Ami's cell phone earlier saying that we'd be here. She called me back and said that she and Usagi would be here after school, possibly Makoto as well." At that moment the doorbell rang.

"Speak of the devil." Michiru-mama remarked. Hoshiko looked perplexed as I went to answer the door and Mrs. Tsukino leaned in to tell her. I smiled as I heard her say that she understood now.

"Hi Hotaru!" Usagi, Ami, and Makoto said as I opened the door.

"Hi everyone!" I replied as I hugged each of them. "Usagi, Ami, your Moms are in the kitchen with Michiru-mama and Hoshiko. I'll be along in a moment there was something I wanted to ask Makoto about." Usagi and Ami nodded and went off to the kitchen while Makoto and I waited until they were out of sight.

"What did you want to ask me sweetie?" Makoto asked. I held up a hand and motioned for her to wait.

"Aw Mom! Not the baby pictures again!" Ami and Usagi wailed. Makoto and I fell over laughing.

After that we just sat around and talked for another hour or so. Makoto looked a bit sad at first when we talked about families, since her parents had died when she was younger. Mrs. Tsukino and Dr. Mizuno put her at ease by assuring her that she was a part of their families. And then of course there were her sisters, us, as well. She felt a bit better. Then Mrs. Tsukino looked up at the wall clock.

"Oh dear I should be getting home soon so I can start making dinner for my family." She announced as she stood to go.

"You're right I should be doing the same as well. Haruka and Setsuna should be home at any moment as well." Michiru-mama stated. We thanked everyone for stopping by and Hoshiko, Michiru-mama, and I stood and waved as they piled into Dr. Mizuno's station wagon that she'd bought a few weeks ago. That would explain why I didn't recognize it. With a wave and a toot of the horn, they were gone and we went back inside.

"Would you like to help me make dinner Hime-chan?" Michiru-mama asked when we returned to the kitchen.

"Sure Mama, no problem."

"I will be in the living room reading this wonderful book Hotaru showed me then." Hoshiko announced as she held up a copy of the collected Sherlock Holmes stories. I'd read one of the stories, 'A Scandal in Bohemia', to her the other day and she's been hooked ever since. She'd asked me who my favorite authors were when she was looking through my book collection.

While we were making dinner Haruka-papa and Setsuna-mama came home and Haruka-papa noticed the albums on the table. "Been showing off have we?" She remarked. Michiru-mama smiled and told them about our visitors today.

"That reminds me, I've seen Michi's baby pictures, and I have a few of mine, but I've never seen any of yours Sets. Why is that?" Haruka-papa asked.

"Because I have them hidden away in a place where you'll never find them." Setsuna-mama replied smugly.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Bite me Haruka."

"Only if you buy me a drink first."

Michiru-mama cleared her throat dramatically while Hoshiko, who had come back into the kitchen, and I stood there giggling.

"When you children are quite finished go and wash up for dinner." Michiru-mama ordered.

"Yes Michiru-mama." They replied together and ran out of the kitchen laughing when Michiru-mama advanced on them with a wooden spoon.

"Hotaru, could you clear those albums away so you and Hoshiko can set the table?"

"Okay Michiru-mama." I started to gather up the albums while Hoshiko brought out the dishes. She couldn't resist one last peek though.

"They really are very nice pictures you know." She remarked.

"Yeah I know, but I wish she wouldn't show them to everyone who comes over." I replied.

"Well I was thinking of posting them on the internet…" Michiru-mama began with a grin.

"MAMA!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Eleven: Tuesday II. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters. **

Another relatively quiet day at school today, the only highlights being another pleasant lunch with Kenji and a not so pleasant run-in with my old friends Keiko and Megumi during science class. I'd tell you about the former but Haruka-papa is currently in the room looking over my shoulder as I type this.

_This is Haruka-papa; Kenji if you touch my daughter, I will hunt you down and…_**PAPA! **I can't leave her alone for a moment. Grrr, now I have even more editing to do, thanks Papa.

Anyway, back to the Keiko/Megumi incident in science class. Kimyo and I were in our science class, the only class other than gym we have together, and we usually partner up for lab assignments. Luckily this is the only class we have with the two of them. I have a history class with Keiko, while Kimyo and Megumi have a computer class together.

For the most part they leave us alone but they point us out to their friends and try to make trouble for us. I say try because on a few occasions it's backfired on them and a few of the other girls have realized what kind of people Keiko and Megumi really are and won't have anything to do with them either. Some of them have become friends of Kimyo and I. This doesn't sit well with Keiko and Megumi as you might imagine.

But seeing as our science teacher seems to have a lousy short term memory, or is oblivious to what is going on around him (which explains the burn marks and holes in his lab bench), he tried to pair Kimyo and I with Megumi and Keiko again. He tried it a few months ago for a big project and the four of us went to my home. Four hours of arguing, accusations, name calling, and other stuff, later Haruka-papa threw them out and Michiru-mama told them in no uncertain terms to never come back. I was about to raise my hand to say something but Megumi beat me to the punch.

"With all due respect Sensei, we would prefer to not be partnered with _those two _for this assignment." Megumi stated. And just what does that mean?

"Is there any particular reason why not?" Sensei asked. The class got very quiet at this moment.

"Those two are extremely selfish and difficult to work with, if not impossible." Kimyo said. _Please! _Try listening to yourselves sometime. I saw Kimyo sitting there rolling her eyes.

"I am afraid that is not an adequate reason young lady." Sensei stated. "The four of you will do the lab assignment together as instructed." He turned around and went back to the blackboard.

"You can't make us work with those dykes!" Megumi shouted. There was a stunned gasp from the rest of the class as Sensei whirled around so quickly that Megumi and Kimyo took a step backwards. I rose to my feet to go over there and demonstrate a few of the moves that Haruka-papa, Makoto, and Rei have been teaching me, while Kimyo was content to beat them to death with a textbook. We were both restrained by a few of our other classmates.

"_What did you just say?" _Sensei demanded angrily. Keiko and Megumi went pale. Sensei doesn't loose his temper often, but when he does, run.

"Uhh, well…" They both stammered. Sensei set his book down and glared at them. You could hear a pin drop in the room.

"I think it would be best if the two of you came with me to the principal's office where we can get this sorted out." Sensei walked over to the door and opened it while Keiko and Megumi gathered their books and such and marched out of the room quietly, heads bowed. "The rest of you study…something. Miss Tomoe, Miss Hoshi, I will speak with you when I return." With that he closed the door and left. We collectively exhaled when we were sure they were a safe distance down the hall.

"Oh God, Hotaru, Kimyo, are you okay?" Risa asked in concern as she came around to face me as did a few others.

"Yeah I'm fine." I replied. I looked at my hands and they were still shaking. "Kimyo?"

"I'm all right." Kimyo replied. I noticed that her face was red and she was crying. "Damn them!" She suddenly shouted, knocking her books to the floor. Everybody jumped again. Keiko and Megumi were once her really close friends. The look of betrayal on her face was indescribable. "I'm all right! I'm all right!" She said as she waved everyone off who tried to help her. I reached down and picked up her books. She smiled gratefully as I placed them back on her desk.

"Serves them right if they get suspended or kicked out of school!" Someone shouted.

"Yeah, I'm sick of those two stuck up bitches! Who do they think they are anyway?" Someone else commented. Several others joined in at this point. One or two tried to stick up for Megumi and Keiko but were shouted down. Finally Risa blew a shrill whistle.

"Will you people shut up?" Risa shouted at them. "Can't you see that Kimyo and Hotaru are hurting and need our help?" Everyone looked down and mumbled apologies. Risa turned and smiled at the both of us.

"Thanks Risa. I really appreciate your help." I said.

"Me too, thank you Risa." Kimyo added. Risa smiled and took both of us by the hand.

"That's what friends are for right?" Risa asked. At that moment we heard Sensei's voice outside the door and everyone quickly returned to their seats. The door opened and Sensei poked his head in.

"Miss Hoshi? Miss Tomoe? I would like to speak to the two of you outside for a moment." _Uh-oh, this can't be good. _I thought as Kimyo and I stepped out of the classroom to find the Principal standing there looking concerned.

"Are you both all right?" She asked.

"Yes we are." We replied.

"Good. I have sent the two of them home early today. Tomorrow I would like to see both of your parents in my office tomorrow afternoon where I will discuss the situation with them along with their parents. I will have a note for each of you to take home to your respective parents outlining the situation. I wish to see this situation resolved as soon as possible." Her voice softened. "I'm truly sorry that this incident occurred and I'm hoping that it will never happen again. Both of you are exemplary students and I am proud of both of you. Please feel free to come and talk to me at any time." She smiled at the both of us and placed a reassuring hand on mine and Kimyo's shoulders.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate that." Kimyo replied.

"As would I. Thank you." I said. She smiled again and went back to her office. Sensei stood off to the side with his arms folded, a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry that this happened as well. I realized that there was some friction between you two and those two, but I never dreamed it was that bad." He said.

"It's all right. You couldn't have known. We were surprised as well." I said. Kimyo just nodded.

"All right then, let's return to class shall we?" He smiled and opened the door and we went back inside.

The rest of the day passed quietly, other than the gossip buzzing around the school. Kenji was very concerned when we met for lunch but otherwise **NOTHING HAPPENED. **Okay Haruka-papa?

_Haruka-papa: okay. (She leaves.) _Honestly! She goes way over the top sometimes.

After school, Kimyo and I picked up our notes from the Principal and headed for our bus. As we boarded there was a smattering of applause. I guess not many others liked them either. Kimyo and I just talked about our lab assignment for tomorrow and the movie we were hopefully going out to see together on Friday evening with our families. Neither of us wanted to talk about Keiko and Megumi. Luckily we managed to grab the seat up front where no one pestered us about it either. The driver didn't like people running around his bus while he drove. We got to my stop where Kimyo and I promised to call each other later this evening.

I saw Haruka-papa was home already. She was taking Michiru-mama and Hoshiko down to the racetrack today. She even hinted that she may even take Hoshiko for a ride. Hoshiko looked excited as they left after dropping me off at school this morning while Michiru-mama looked rather worried. I hoped what happened to me didn't happen to poor Hoshiko.

As for Setsuna-mama, she was up at the Time Gate doing what she did up there. (Boy that sounds vague doesn't it?) She promised that she would check the progress of the other Animamates that Hoshiko had returned to their own worlds or other suitable planets.

When I got inside and went into the living room, I saw a blanket covered figure on our couch. Oh dear, I hoped I was wrong when I went over and looked under the blanket at one end and found a pair of feet clad in white socks. I blinked and went over to the other end. Sure enough it was a pale, frazzled, and somewhat queasy looking Hoshiko who glared back at me.

"Um, hi Hoshiko." I said. Silence.

"Are you okay?" She shook her head.

"Papa kind of overdid it huh?" Nod.

"You'd like me to go away and leave you alone now right?" More nodding. I replaced the blanket and quietly headed for the kitchen where Michiru-mama was lightly scolding Haruka-papa.

"I do not believe you Haruka Tenoh! Doing something like that to poor Hoshiko. She's our guest and our friend for heaven's sake! I just hope she isn't too angry when she recovers." They noticed me entering the room at that moment. "Oh, hello Hime-chan! How was your day?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Is Mama home yet?"

"No, but I think Setsuna should be dropping in any moment now." Haruka-papa stated as she glanced at her watch.

As if on cue, we heard the sound of a time portal opening up in the living room, followed by 'AAAAAA!' *Thump* 'Owie!' We waited to see if there were any screaming and loud explosions which would indicate that Setsuna-mama had landed on Hoshiko. We heard nothing except for what sounded like muttered apologies and we each breathed a sigh of relief. Then Setsuna-mama walked into the kitchen with a frown on her face.

"What did you do to her Haruka?" Setsuna-mama asked accusingly.

"Hey, she asked if she could go for a ride like Firefly did last year. Not my fault she couldn't handle it!" Haruka-papa shot back. Insert collective exasperated sigh from the rest of the cast. Haruka-papa just folded her arms and pouted.

"You said that you wanted to talk to us about something Hotaru?" Michiru-mama asked. I nodded and took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy.

"The three of you might want to sit down for this…" I began as I told them about the day's events.

Several minutes later Setsuna-mama had her arms around me while Michiru-mama was desperately trying to keep Haruka-papa from going off and hunting the two of them down and doing things to them that would have made Torquemada* queasy (at least that's what Setsuna-mama told me later as she was busy covering my ears at the time. Hoshiko had come into the kitchen as well, no doubt alerted by the yelling and Haruka-papa slamming her fist against the counter.

"What is going on? Why are you all yelling?" Hoshiko asked looking extremely agitated. Wordlessly I handed her the note from the Principal. Hoshiko read it once and gasped in shock. She looked over at me with tears forming in her eyes. "Is this true?" She whispered. I nodded and Hoshiko came over and hugged me as well.

This stopped Haruka-papa's ranting and pacing and she came over and hugged me as well along with Michiru-mama. This would be one of those wonderful families bonding moments you see on TV except for one tiny problem.

"Um, hello? I kind of need to breathe." We all laughed sheepishly and broke apart slightly. Still I was extremely grateful to them for their show of support. "Thank you, all of you."

"You're welcome Firefly." Haruka-papa replied. Then her face contorted in anger again. " I knew those two were trouble even before I threw them out of the house that day, but I never thought they'd go this far."

"Haruka and I are used to dealing with idiots like that on a regular basis ever since we went public with our relationship. We had hoped that people wouldn't attack you because of it Hime-chan, but it's not to be it seems." Michiru-mama added.

"I know Mama, I know." I replied sadly as I hugged her. "But I love both of you so much. And I accepted your relationship long ago even before you explained it to me. You shouldn't have to apologize to anyone."

"It is not right that Hotaru should be persecuted for a choice that the two of you made long ago. I do not understand why people should be so, so, stupid." Hoshiko commented, looking baffled.

"A man named Albert Einstein spoke a universal truth when he said; 'there are two things that are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. And I'm not so sure about the universe.' It's a sad comment about the human condition, but it's true." Setsuna-mama commented. "Trust me, I've had a long time to observe and experience it firsthand. Some people just can't accept things as they are." She shook her head sadly. "I've long since accepted the relationship between Haruka and Michiru. True they tend to be a little overenthusiastic about expressing their feelings, but I still love both of them and support them fully and I always will."

"Thank you Sets." Michiru-mama said as she hugged Setsuna-mama. Haruka-papa did the same. "And don't worry Hotaru, we'll be down to see your Principal tomorrow afternoon and get this sorted out. And afterwards we'll go over to the Crown and see the others. I know that'll make me feel better." Michiru-mama said with a smile. I smiled and hugged her again. Naturally the phone rang just in time to spoil the moment. Haruka-papa answered it.

"Hello? Oh hi. Yeah Hotaru was just telling us about it. Yes she's okay, how's Kimyo? That's good. How are you coping? Yeah we were pretty damn steamed here too. Oh don't worry, we'll all be there tomorrow and hopefully those two will get what's coming to them (Michiru-mama scribbled something on a piece of paper and showed it to Haruka-papa). Oh, and Michiru wants to know if you and Kimyo would like to go over to the Crown afterwards. You would? Great! We'll see you tomorrow then. Yes I'll tell her. Thanks for calling. Bye." Haruka-papa hung up. "Kimyo and her Mom are okay, but they're both really upset. And Kimyo wants you to call her after dinner Hime-chan."

"No problem Papa." I replied. I was glad to hear that Kimyo and her Mom were all right and that my family was behind me. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have a family like mine.

Hoshiko looked both relieved and happy for a moment then she started looking a bit pale again as she put a hand to her forehead. "I think that I need to lie down again." She announced.

Setsuna-mama shot Haruka-papa an annoyed look before helping Hoshiko out of the kitchen. "I saw the other Animamates off to their homes…" She began as they left.

"Well I think I'll go tinker with my car a bit before dinner." Haruka-papa announced. It was one of her ways of relieving stress, the others being fighting and, well I'll leave it to your imagination as it involves Michiru-mama. She left the kitchen.

"I guess that leaves the two of us to make dinner Hime-chan." Michiru-mama said with a sigh.

"I don't mind at all Mama." I replied proudly. She smiled and kissed me on the forehead. Then we set about preparing dinner. Then the phone rang again while I was making a salad. I just hit the speakerphone button. "Hello?"

"I know your secret." Oh look it's the creepy voice again.

"Stuff it jerk." I replied and hung up.

"What was that about?" Michiru-mama asked.

"I have no idea." I replied honestly. We shrugged and went back to preparing dinner.

After dinner I came up to my room feeling a lot better about the day's events than I had been earlier, and was starting to type when Haruka-papa came into my room suddenly.

"Hang on! You had lunch with, that, that, _that boy?" _ Whoops, I knew I'd forgotten something. There went my quiet evening. Sigh, parents. They just don't understand.

*Thomas de Torquemada (1420-1498) was a 15th Century Dominican Friar and a General in the Spanish Inquisition. His name has become a byword for acts of unspeakable cruelty and fanaticism in the service of religion. If what Haruka was thinking of doing could make _him _queasy, I'd worry for the safety of Megumi and Keiko.


	12. Chapter 12

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Twelve: Wednesday II.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters. **

Ah yes, the first full day at school without Keiko and Megumi here to make it miserable. I'm really going to miss them. Not.

Word had spread quickly throughout the school about what happened and several people had come up to express their support and gratitude in a few cases to me and Kimyo. It seems we weren't their only targets.

There were also a few of Megumi and Keiko's circle of friends who came up to us promising dire retribution if we spoke against their leaders. Most of them were harmless, all full of 'sound and fury' as Shakespeare would put it.

But there were two girls that I rather worried about running into were named Aya and Rumi. They were big, muscular girls like Makoto, only not as nice or smart. They routinely beat up several smaller students, and could take on larger boys as well. They were the brawn in Keiko and Megumi's little gang, three guesses who the brains were. Neither was as skilled as a fighter as Haruka-papa, Makoto, or Rei, but with their size (Aya: 5'7", 165. Rumi: 5'10", 180) and strength they didn't need to be. Suffice it to say, if Kimyo and I ran into them, we'd be in trouble. Our only advantages were that we were smaller, more agile, and faster, not to mention way smarter. There were my powers as well, but that was an absolute last resort.

Unfortunately for Kimyo and me, we ran into them while on our way to our Science class. We were halfway there when Aya's loud foghorn voice blasted down the halls.

"Tomoe! Hoshi! We wanna talk to you!" Aw crap, here it comes. We turned to see them lumbering towards us while several students scrambled out of their path. They stormed up and blocked our way to the nearest exit.

"You two got our buddies kicked out of school." Rumi growled cracking her knuckles.

"And now you're gonna pay for it after school." Aya added as she glared at us. I could see the veins throbbing in their heads as they glared at us. This wasn't going to be one of life's great pleasures. Kimyo and I looked at each other, maybe we could bluff our way out, or buy time until help arrives.

"Well I'm impressed." Kimyo declared with a small smile. "Both of you managed to string a sentence together, congratulations." Kimyo sounded confident but she was as scared to death as I was. I pulled out my transformation pen and hid it up my sleeve just in case. I hoped things wouldn't get out of hand as I played along.

"Have the two of you been taking elocution lessons from Keiko and Megumi? They seem to be working wonders." Both of them looked confused. I imagine they were used to seeing their victims cowering in fear by now. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Risa and a few of our other classmates coming around the corner. They saw the situation at once and one of them ran to get help. I hoped it would get here soon.

"You're not gonna sound so smart with your teeth broken!" Aya warned.

"Not to mention having your faces smashed in!" Rumi put in. Both of them were flexing their arms like it was a bodybuilding competition.

"Have the two of you thought about trying out for the WWE?" I asked sweetly. They both blinked in confusion.

"Although in your cases you may want to wear masks." Kimyo added. Oh no, not a good thing to say. Both of them stopped looking confused and started looking really angry now.

Rumi growled like a dog and reached for Kimyo while Aya reached for me. We backpedaled into a wall to try to avoid them. "That's it! You and your smart mouths are gonna get what's coming to you right now!" Rumi bellowed. Just then a shadow fell over us and a huge hand grabbed Rumi's arm and turned her around.

"I think not." A deep voice said calmly. The voice belonged to Mr. Sato, my Social Studies teacher and a retired Sumo wrestler. He's a really nice man whom no one can actually recall ever seeing get mad at anything. Seeing as he's 6'3" and 395 lbs, that's a good thing.

"I believe that it is time that the three of us went to speak to the Principal." He said calmly to Rumi and Aya as he took each of them by the scruff of the neck and lifted them off the floor with no effort. The looks of shock and fear on their faces were indescribable. He turned to us and bowed slightly.

"Miss Tomoe, Miss Hoshi, you are unharmed I hope?" He asked.

"Yes Sensei. Thank you." We replied in unison as we bowed. Mr. Sato nodded in satisfaction.

"Very good. I will see you in class later then Miss Tomoe. Miss Hoshi." He smiled towards us then he turned and lumbered off towards the Principal's office carrying a very frightened pair of bullies down the hall in full view of everyone.

Let this be a lesson to any aspiring bullies out there; as big as you are, there is always someone bigger.

"Oh wow, Hotaru, Kimyo! Are you okay?" Risa asked in concern as she and the others ran up to us.

"We're fine, really. Thank you." Kimyo replied with a nervous giggle. I smiled and put an arm around her shoulder.

"We're both okay. Thank you Risa, all of you." I added. Everyone looked relieved.

"You're welcome, but you at least owe me an introduction to Haruka Tenoh for this!" Risa declared. Kimyo and I laughed and everyone joined in as we headed for our Science class. We apologized to Sensei for being a little late that day. He assured us that it was fine, he'd just heard from the Vice-Principal about the incident and he asked if we were okay. We told him that we were and that we were ready for that day's lab assignment.

Kimyo and I made a presentation in front of the class today. We were showing what would happen when certain compounds were placed in the flame of a Bunsen burner.

While I got the burner hooked up with Sensei looking on, Kimyo went to the store room and got out a few of the sample materials that Sensei had prepared for us. She was still feeling a bid giddy from the incident I think because she was lurching like Igor from one of the Frankenstein movies as she came back to the table complete with exaggerated limp, squinty eyes, and imaginary hunchback. Even Sensei was laughing a bit while she did this. I just looked up at the ceiling and muttered 'Why me God?'

Igor put the materials down and peered up at me, anxiously awaiting my approval. "What are we going to do now Master?" She was fawning now. The drool was a bit of overkill though.

Undaunted I placed a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to take over the world now." I declared.

"Oh boy! I can't wait!" She cackled and rubbed her hands in anticipation. The entire class was rolling in the aisles now and Sensei was having troubles keeping his composure.

_Notice: aspiring mad scientist needs new assistant. Must be able to take directions well, hunchback and excessive fawning not required. Salary to be negotiated. Send enquiries to email address at bottom of page. _

Anyway, we managed to calm down and perform the demonstration without wrecking the lab. Sensei was pleased with our demonstration, but advised us to save the acting for drama class. I can't blame Kimyo for wanting to let off some steam by acting goofy, considering what could have happened.

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful, and Kimyo and I were leaving our last class, gym, when our teacher asked us to head down to the Principal's office where our respective parents were waiting. We thanked her, steadied ourselves for what promised to be an unpleasant meeting, and made our way down to the office.

When we got there we spotted Hoshiko sitting outside the office. She was still reading Sherlock Holmes and would occasionally look up and smile at any passing boy who was gawking at her causing them to scurry away. We smiled a bit as we approached her. She smiled warmly and stood up at our approach. Mr. Sato was nearby and we waved to him.

"Hello Hotaru. And it is nice to see you again as well Kimyo. I trust you are well?" She asked.

"I'm fine, thanks Hoshiko." Kimyo replied. "How are things going in there?" She asked as she looked towards the Principal's office where we could hear voices rising in anger.

"It is not going well I'm afraid. We arrived along with Mrs. Hoshi and found that the two girls I gathered to be Keiko and Megumi had arrived at the same time with their parents. Some words were exchanged, mostly between Haruka and the girl's fathers, and your Principal came out and ushered them into her office. She also asked me to remain out here and wait for your arrival." Hoshiko replied.

Just then we heard a man shout something, followed by Haruka-papa's angry reply. I'm not going to repeat exactly what they said here. I believe that I've already exceeded my quota for bad language in this report so far.

A woman's voice started shouting and this time it was Michiru-mama who yelled back. I felt a very tiny twinge of sympathy towards Megumi and Keiko's parents at that moment. I've stated before how scary Michiru-mama gets when she really gets mad. Haruka-papa has often stated that she would rather face an army of yoma alone, armed with a dull putty knife, than an enraged Michiru-mama.

Oh boy, now someone managed to get Setsuna-mama angry as well. Really bad idea. Let me put it to you this way; would you want to anger a woman who could, and would, send you back in time to, say, the Battle of Agincourt on the French side?* I don't think so.

Kimyo's Mom was getting her two cents in as well. Kimyo told me later that she'd never heard of her Mom getting that mad before.

Finally the office door flew open, and I could hear the Principal tell Keiko and Megumi that they were both suspended from school for a month. Both of them walked out of the office, followed by their parents, with their heads hung low. Keiko looked up and saw me standing there and she suddenly ran up, grabbed me, and spat in my face.

"You dyke! I'll make you pay for this!" She yelled as she raised her hand to slap me but her wrist was caught by an angry Hoshiko.

The Principal came storming out of her office and glared at Keiko. She nodded and Hoshiko let go of Keiko's wrist. Behind them I could see Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama were having trouble restraining Haruka-papa. Kimyo's Mom ran over and hugged her daughter protectively.

"You may now consider yourself expelled from this school young lady." The Principal stated in a hard, flat voice.

"You can't do this to us!" Megumi shouted. "Not over these two worthless sluts!" The Principal whirled around so quickly that Megumi and her parents took a step back in fear. She was absolutely livid as she spoke. Activity inside and outside of the room had come to a dead stop.

"I can and I will young lady. In fact you are also expelled as well! Now get out of this school that your actions have dishonored and don't come back!" The Principal shouted.

"But you can't…" Megumi's Mom began but the Principal got into her face.

"Take your daughters and leave this school at once!" She screamed. They finally got the hint it seemed as the 6 of them ran out of the office for all they were worth, which quite frankly wasn't much by my estimation. Everyone within earshot stood there in shock and awe at what had just taken place. Even Haruka-papa was stunned. The Principal stood there trying to get her breathing under control. The silence was broken by Michiru-mama.

"Oh Hotaru, are you okay?" She exclaimed as she ran up to me and enveloped me in a tight hug followed by Haruka-papa and Setsuna-mama. Even Hoshiko joined in. Haruka-papa handed me her handkerchief.

"I'm okay Mama, everyone. I'm just glad that's over with." I replied after wiping my face. Kimyo and her Mom came over and joined our little circle. I could hear things getting back to normal around us as well.

"Are you going to be all right?" Hoshiko asked the Principal in concern. We turned to see her standing there shaking a bit but otherwise she was a lot calmer.

"I'll be fine now, thank you for your concern." She replied with a reassuring smile. Then she bowed to all of us. "I'm sorry that all of you had to witness such an outburst like that. Please forgive me."

"It's all right. Those people seem to have a talent for bringing out the worst in everyone." Setsuna-mama commented.

"I'll say I've never seen such hateful, bigoted, and self-centered people in my life! I'm ashamed to admit that they were once friends." Mrs. Hoshi stated. "I hope that I never have to see them again."

"It shames me to say this, but I hope your wish is granted." The Principal commented sadly.

"You mean that they had better pray that they never see us again." Haruka-papa growled.

"Miss Tenoh, anger only begets anger, which only leads to sorrow. Would you stoop to their level? Is this the example you would set for your daughter? I think not." Mr. Sato, who had been outside the office and had heard most of the argument, came in at this point.

Michiru-mama smiled at him and placed a hand on Haruka-papa's shoulder. "He's right my love. Do you want our Hime-chan to end up like them?"

Haruka-papa looked down at the floor. "No I don't. You're both right, I'm sorry."

Mr. Sato smiled. "Very good then." He looked at my parents and shook their hands. "The three of you are doing an exemplary job of raising young Miss Tomoe here. Do not let this incident ruin that. As a Father of two daughters myself, I realize it is hard to shield them from the evils of this world. But by setting a good example for them hopefully our children will walk the right path. That is all any parent can hope for." With that he smiled and left the office.

"Wow." Haruka-papa breathed in awe after he left. Not often that something like that happens.

"What an extraordinary man!" Setsuna-mama exclaimed. Hoshiko nodded in agreement.

"That he is." The Principal agreed. "A Sumo wrestler and a gifted teacher with degrees in philosophy and theology, not to mention a loving father and husband. He's also a great cook and golfer."

"Is there anything he cannot do?" Hoshiko wondered.

"Well he admits that he can't sing very well, or play a musical instrument, but he's working on it." The Principal replied with a smile. We all laughed a bit as we said our farewells.

"Oh yes, Hotaru and Kimyo, you'll be happy to know that those other two young hooligans who threatened you earlier have been expelled as well. It may seem harsh, but I've wanted those two out of here for quite some time." The Principal stated.

"That's nice to hear. Thank you. We'll see you tomorrow then." I said. Kimyo went up and hugged the Principal as did I and we all left the building.

"What other girls? What happened?" Michiru-mama asked. Kimyo and I told them about Rumi and Aya, not to mention being rescued by Mr. Sato. Everyone was shocked at first, but it seemed that Mr. Sato's words had sunk in because Haruka-papa didn't go off on a tangent like I thought she would. But she was pretty angry though, as was everyone else.

"It seems that we owe Mr. Sato an even bigger debt than we knew." Setsuna-mama stated as we headed for the van.

"Yes we do. Does he enjoy music Hime-chan?" Michiru-mama asked.

"Yeah he enjoys classical music." I replied.

"I think he'd enjoy a few personally autographed CD's then. Wouldn't you agree?" Michiru-mama said.

"Yes I think he'd enjoy them very much." I replied.

"Now that everything's settled, let's go meet Koneko and the others at the Crown shall we?" Haruka-papa asked. We all agreed enthusiastically and were about to pile into the van when Risa came up on her bike.

"Hey! I thought you said that you'd introduce me to Haruka Tenoh? Last time I save your life." She sounded angry but she was smiling. We laughed again and Haruka-papa introduced herself in her usual flamboyant manner by bowing deeply and kissing the back of her hand. Risa blushed like a spotlight and nearly fell off her bike. Haruka-papa signed one of her publicity photos that she kept handy just in case and handed it to Risa who was extremely happy I can tell you. I introduced Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and Hoshiko as well, and they each thanked her for her help. Soon we headed our separate ways.

We arrived at the Crown to find the others there and we filled them in on what happened. They were all shocked, then angry, and finally relieved.

"Mr. Sato and your Principal both sound like really decent and good people." Usagi commented. "I hope that there are a lot more people like them around to keep people like Megumi and Keiko in check."

"I hope so too Usagi." I replied. I hope that she's right for all our sakes.

*Historical note: The Battle of Agincourt was fought on October 25, 1415 in Northern France between the forces of King Henry V of England, and Charles VI of France. Imagine being part of the French Army, wearing full armor, riding a horse, in a narrow muddy valley, in the rain, when 800-1000 Welsh Archers decide to suddenly rain arrows on top of your head. Not fun.

See for more details. Or read (or see) William Shakespeare's _Henry V. _


	13. Chapter 13

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter 13: Thursday II.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters. But I now have the whole series on DVD, and I just acquired the full Manga series, so know I'll know what the hell half of my reviewers are asking about. **

Another fun filled day at school today with the usual fun stuff like exploding labs and marathon torture sessions in gym class. This was followed by a visit from an old friend and a shocking revelation at home.

First up my gym class, I've come to the conclusion that my gym teacher either used to be a Drill Sergeant in the army at one point, or he really is a total sadist. Occasionally he tends to get a little overzealous and we end up running a lot of extra laps, or more sit-ups, or whatever. Today it was more sit-ups than we could count. Kimyo, a few of the other girls, and I have come to the conclusion that he really needs a girlfriend as his love life tends to affect his moods. Maybe I'll ask Setsuna-mama, she's met him.

_Setsuna-mama: NO! _Okay, maybe not.

As for the lab incident, well Ami and the others told me that at some point there is always some silly person who will try to blow up the school lab, either by accident or by design. Today I found out what they meant.

We have this one boy in my science class who, quite frankly, makes everyone nervous. He's always smiling, not a nice smile either, rather a cat-ate-the-canary smile like he's waiting to pull some huge joke on everyone. Today he must have figured was his big chance because he was giggling when he went up to the front to perform his experiment.

_This can't be a good omen. _I thought at the time, and I was right.

Basically he was performing a similar experiment to the one Kimyo and I did yesterday, putting compounds into the flame of a Bunsen burner, but he'd brought something with him that he'd, and I quote; 'whipped up at home for the occasion.' A diluted form of gunpowder as it turned out.

He didn't tell us that straight out at the beginning of course. We realized what it was when he started putting small bits of it into the flame and laughing as we all gaped at the bright flashes and brilliant colors it produced when it combusted. I suppose it was our fault for egging him on like we did, but hey it was fun to watch. At least until he dropped the hot metal spoon into the dish with the gunpowder in it.

There was a loud pop and a large jet of flame that hit the ceiling and the room was filled with thick, black smoke. We evacuated the room quickly while Sensei put out the fire and let us go to have an early lunch while he and 'Mr. Wizard' spent some quality time cleaning the lab together.

After that I sat down and had lunch with Katsuji again. We talked about the usual stuff like homework, parents, and other stuff. He laughed when I told him about the lab incident. Then he asked me an odd question.

"Have you heard anything from Megumi and Keiko?"

I just sat there staring at him like he was crazy. "Why in the world would I want to hear anything from those two? Not that they would call me anyway, unless it was to harass me or set their thugs on me. Why are you so concerned about them anyway?" I demanded angrily.

He backpedaled in a big hurry as he tried to laugh it off. "Um, nothing really, I used to share a class with Megumi. I was just worried that they'd tried to do something, that's all." He'd tried to deflect my question and failed miserably, which made me more than a little suspicious. If I were Haruka-papa, I'd be grabbing him by a very tender part of his anatomy and squeezing and twisting until he told me what I wanted to know (and that's if she were in a good mood). But I'm not, and I had to get answers from him the slow and less painful way, and since he wasn't very forthcoming I was at a loss over what to do. Besides lunch was nearly over and it was time to go to my next class with Mr. Sato.

"Ah, young Miss Tomoe, I trust that you are well today?" Mr. Sato asked when I walked into his classroom.

"I'm fine, thank you Sensei." I replied with a bow. He smiled in relief.

"Very good." He said.

"I have something here for you from Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa." I began as I rummaged through my schoolbag until I found what I was searching for. He smiled even wider when I presented him with an autographed copy of Michiru-mama's latest CD that she and Haruka-papa performed a few duets on.

"Thank you very much Miss Tomoe, and my thanks to your parents as well. I shall treasure this always." Mr. Sato said with heartfelt thanks.

"You're very welcome Sensei. And I'll be sure to get you a copy of their newest CD when it comes out in a few weeks. I'm performing on it as well. We did the recording last week." I informed him. He was genuinely surprised at that bit of news.

"Then I shall look forward to hearing it. Now our class is starting and we have much to do, so please take your seat." Mr. Sato said as he gestured towards my desk. I bowed again and went over to sit beside Kimyo.

After that was my gym class/torture session and I was ready to drop when I left school. Kimyo was beside me as we slowly made our way out.

"So what did Katsuji have to say today?" Kimyo asked.

"What, you mean you weren't hiding under the table listening again?" I retorted with a smirk. She glowered at me and stuck her tongue out at me.

"If I could raise my arm to smack you right now, I would." She growled back. "So c'mon, tell me already." So I told her about everything that Katsuji said, including the part where he mentioned Megumi and Keiko. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at that point and her voice took on a conspiratorial tone.

"I don't know if this means anything, but a few weeks ago I saw Katsuji hanging around with Keiko and Megumi at the food court at the mall. I don't know what they were talking about, and I wasn't about to get closer with the gorilla sisters there as well." Kimyo stated.

"When was this?" I demanded in surprise. The more I was learning about Katsuji, the less I liked how things were going.

"A few weeks after you and Katsuji started having lunch together." Kimyo replied. I was speechless, but this would explain Katsuji's question and behavior during lunch. How long has he known them? I walked along lost in my own thoughts until a car horn sounded and a familiar voice brought me back to Earth with a jolt.

"Geeze Firefly, doesn't your old Papa rate a 'hello' anymore?" I looked up sharply, startled and saw Haruka-papa standing beside her car with a big grin on her face. Hoshiko waved from the back seat.

"Hi Papa! Hi Hoshiko!" I called as Kimyo and I ran up to the car. "What brings you two here today?"

"We just wanted to surprise you, that and there's someone waiting at home who'd like to say hello." Haruka-papa replied.

"Really? Who is it?" I asked.

"Now you know I can't tell you that, it would spoil the surprise. Besides if I told you, Michiru and Setsuna would kill me." Haruka-papa admonished. I looked over at Hoshiko who shrugged.

"I am sorry, I cannot tell you either." She said. I gave up. My parents can be so infuriating sometimes. It seems to be a common theme today.

Kimyo interrupted us. "Um, Ms. Tenoh? Could I catch a ride home with you, please?" She asked. As we were standing there talking, our bus had pulled away. Whoopsie.

Haruka-papa laughed. "Sure, hop in." She held open the door and Kimyo eagerly climbed into the backseat beside Hoshiko while I got into the front seat. Soon we were on our way home and Kimyo and I started talking about what happened in the lab today, along with our conversation with Mr. Sato.

"That's not too bad. I once managed to burn a huge hole in the lab bench in my high school lab after accidentally dropping a beaker of acid." Haruka-papa commented.

"Only once?" I asked innocently. Haruka-papa shot me an annoyed look while Kimyo and Hoshiko giggled.

"Ha-Ha very funny. I'll have you know that I was a very attentive student in most of my classes." Haruka-papa shot back.

"That's not what Michiru-mama told me. In fact she's often mentioned that you either paid more attention to her, or other girls, or the latest racing magazines, then you did in class." I shot back. Haruka-papa just growled and concentrated on her driving. To be far though, Haruka-papa did quite well in the majority of her classes, thank you very much. She is a lot brighter than a lot of people give her credit for and a lot stronger and tougher as well. So there.

"Did you ever do anything like that when you were in school Hoshiko?" Kimyo asked. Hoshiko blushed faintly.

"Well, I once dropped a canister of liquid nitrogen onto the laboratory bench of my school lab." Hoshiko replied looking embarrassed.

"What happened?" Kimyo demanded.

Hoshiko's blush deepened. "The contents spilled all over the table top ruining everything sitting on it. I tried to scoop up some of it in a bucket, but I dropped the bucket and shattered the table top. I was banned from the school lab after that." She sighed and sank into her seat a bit.

"Do you mean to tell me that our shy little Hoshiko was a hell-raiser in high school? I've got to tell Michiru about this!" Haruka-papa crowed. Hoshiko replied by giving her a gesture that she no doubt learned by observing Haruka-papa. Oh dear, this could be bad if Haruka-papa is becoming that much of an influence on poor Hoshiko. The rest of us were all laughing as we drove up to Kimyo's home and dropped her off. And with Hoshiko glowering at Haruka-papa the whole way, we went home.

There was a green mini-van with a handicapped sticker on the window parked in front of our home as we pulled up and neither Haruka-papa nor Hoshiko would tell me who it belonged to.

"We're home!" Haruka-papa called out as we entered. I heard voices from the living room.

"We're in the living room love!" Michiru-mama called back. The three of us trooped into our living room where I received a huge, but happy, surprise.

"Yuko!" I cried out as I went over and hugged someone I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Hotaru! Hi!" Yuko replied as she hugged me. If you remember last year's report, Yuko Minaguchi was the blind girl who was seated at the table with us at Grandma and Grandpa Kaioh's wedding anniversary celebration (and we all know how _that_ turned out don't we?) She's a cousin of Michiru-mama's and a dear friend of mine.

We've had dinner at each other's homes dozens of times and her parents and mine are good friends as well. Six months ago though, Mr. Minaguchi was transferred to England. We've exchanged letters and E-mails and letters but it was really nice to see them again.

"It's great to see you again Hotaru." Mrs. Minaguchi said as I went and hugged her and Mr. Minaguchi.

"When did you get in? How long are you staying?" Everyone laughed politely as I stood there babbling like a fool. I blushed a bit and sat down beside Yuko while Michiru-mama handed me a cup of tea.

"I see that you are still as full of questions as ever." Mr. Minaguchi remarked with a chuckle. "To your first question, we've been back for a few days now. We'll be home for a few weeks and then we're heading for Switzerland."

"Switzerland! Wow, that sounds so exciting! What are you going over there for?" I asked.

"We already told your parents and your cousin Hoshiko here, but it might be best if we let Yuko tell you herself." Mrs. Minaguchi replied.

"Is there someplace that we could talk privately Hotaru?" Yuko asked politely.

"Okay let's head up to my room then okay?" I replied. Yuko smiled and nodded as I took her hand and lead her up to my room. Both of us brought our tea with us as we went.

Once we were up in my room I lead her to my desk chair while I perched on the edge of my bed.

"Are you still collecting antique lamps Hotaru?" Yuko asked quietly as we sipped our tea. She seemed to be really worried about something, but I didn't want to press her.

"Sometimes, but not as many as I used to though. That lamp sitting on the desk to your left is the most recent one." I replied. "I bought it a few weeks ago."

"That's good." Yuko said. We spent the next several minutes catching up on everything we'd been up to in the last few months since we'd last spoken to one another. She talked about going to school in England, while I talked about my latest report and everything that's happened so far. Well almost everything anyway.

Yuko laughed politely. "What? You mean to tell me that you haven't rescued a bunch of hostages at the airport yet?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that lately?" I muttered as I sipped my tea.

Yuko laughed again then her expression grew serious. "There are a few things I need to tell you Hotaru." She set her cup down and put her hands in her lap. I noticed that she was trembling a bit as well.

"You can tell me anything Yuko, you know that." I assured her. Yuko smiled and nodded.

"The reason my parents and I were going to Switzerland is that we were going to a special clinic there." She stated.

"A clinic? What's so special about this particular clinic?" I asked. I suddenly became very worried about her health, and the health of her parents.

"I can hear the anxiety in your voice from here. Don't worry, it's nothing life threatening. Our Doctor in England recommended it to us because there is a fairly good chance that they may be able to restore my eyesight." Yuko replied.

"I set my cup down before going over and embracing her. "Oh Yuko, that's wonderful news!" I exclaimed. Yuko has been blind since she was six years old and I couldn't imagine what she was going through right now. Yuko hugged me back before I sat back down and held her hand while she explained.

"When our Doctor told us about this clinic, we were excited but cautious. WE did a lot of research and we managed to contact several former patients along with several other Doctors and they all agreed that this clinic was one of the best in the world for performing this type of surgery. There is another one in America but it has a long waiting list. We contacted the one in Switzerland and they were able to put my name on the list for surgery in three months. It'll be expensive, but if I can see the world around me again, it'll be worth it." Yuko stated. Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she spoke.

I gently squeezed her hands. "I'm so happy for you Yuko and I pray that you get your sight back. You are an inspiration to a lot of people including me." Yuko spends a lot of her spare time helping other blind children cope with their disability.

"Thank you again Hotaru. That means a lot to me." Yuko replied. I hugged her again before I picked up my teacup after handing Yuko back her own cup. Her face grew serious again. "I need to tell you something else."

"What's that?" I asked while taking a sip.

Yuko took a deep breath. "I know your secret Hotaru."

Here's a good health tip: shooting hot liquid out your nostrils may be a fun party gag but it looks disgusting and it's also rather painful. "Wha-what do you mean?" I gasped while trying to drown myself.

"I know that you're Sailor Saturn."

I spent the next few minutes coughing and sputtering while Yuko came over and slapped me on the back repeatedly. Setsuna-mama poked her head in and asked if we were all right. Yuko assured her that I was okay. Some tea had gone down the wrong way. Oh and could we get some water please? Setsuna-mama smiled and got both of us a glass of water and after she was sure that I wasn't going to die, she left us alone again.

"I'm sorry Hotaru I didn't mean to shock you so badly." Yuko assured me.

"How did you know?" I demanded when my coughing fit subsided.

"Well you know how good my hearing and other senses are." Yuko replied. "You mentioned it in your report last year a few times, although I'm guessing you sent me the edited version." She was right, her hearing was extraordinary. It was one way she compensated for her blindness.

"Let me guess, it was just after we, the Sailor Senshi, rescued you and everyone else, you came up and thanked me and you commented that my voice was familiar." I said.

"And you tried to cover by lowering your voice a few octaves. You need to practice that, you sounded pretty goofy." Yuko commented with a giggle.

"Oh gee, thanks a heap." I replied sarcastically. "Did you know right away?"

"No, I wasn't sure until a few months later. I happened to catch the news one night after I heard about a Yoma running amok through the amusement park. Do you remember that? A TV reporter caught up to you along with Sailor Moon and a few others after the battle." Yuko replied.

I remembered that now. A Yoma went on a rampage at the amusement park in the middle of August, a few months after my first report concluded. Ami and Makoto were there with my parents and I and we called the others in. We defeated the creature and were about to leave when this annoying reporter ran up to us asking all sorts of dumb questions. Michiru-mama and Rei had been hurt and we wanted to get out of there in a hurry, something Makoto and Haruka-papa told him in no uncertain terms. But he did get a few comments from Usagi, Minako, and me. All I told him was that we were just doing our jobs and could he please leave us be to tend to our wounded. I told this to Yuko who nodded.

"That's when I realized that you and Sailor Saturn were the same person." She stated.

"Have you told anyone else?" I whispered. Yuko was a dear friend. I couldn't conceive of her making those phone calls. Not Yuko. I started crying.

Yuko reached out and touched my cheek. "I haven't told a soul, other than you. Not even my parents know. You are a dear friend Hotaru, we're practically related. I could never hurt you like that. Don't worry I will protect your secret with my dying breath. That I promise you."

I looked at her shocked. "There's no need to go that far!" I hoped it wouldn't go that far, I pray that it won't.

"I hope that it won't come to that, but just in case it does, I wanted you to know that I will protect your secret always." Yuko stated. "And it is my hope that I will get to see you in action with my own eyes."

"I really hope you do as well." I replied as I hugged her. I knew then that Yuko meant every word she said. She never does anything halfway and she means what she says. And I knew that the operation would succeed and that she would be able to see again, which is what I told her.

"Thank you Hotaru. That means a lot to me." Yuko replied with tears in her eyes. We sat there for a few minutes hugging each other until there was a knock on the door.

"Hime-chan? Yuko's parents are saying that it's time to go home now." Setsuna-mama called.

"Okay Mama, thanks." I replied. Yuko looked as disappointed as I did.

"Well, I'll call you later I guess." Yuko said sadly as she stood up.

"I'd like that. And we'll come and visit you before you head to Switzerland." I assured her as we headed downstairs.

"I know you will, because I'll harass you unmercifully if you don't!" She replied with a grin. We both laughed as we went down to the door were our family was waiting. We said our farewells after they gave us a few gifts that they had brought from England, and after assuring them that we'd be coming over for dinner soon, Yuko and her parents left.

"I'm glad that Yuko is getting a chance to get her eyesight back." Michiru-mama commented after they left.

"Me too." Haruka-papa stated. What were the two of you talking about up there? Anything we should know about?"

"Well there was something…" I began, but was interrupted by the phone again. I sighed and answered it. "Hello?"

"I know your secret, Sailor Saturn." The creepy voice said. I screamed and slammed the phone down. _Someone else out there knew I was Sailor Saturn! _

"Hotaru! What is it? What's wrong?" Setsuna-mama exclaimed.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "We've got a problem. Call the others. I need to tell you all something." My parents nodded and started to call everyone while I stood there with my heart pounding furiously in my chest.

What the hell was going on?


	14. Chapter 14

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.**

**Chapter Fourteen: Friday II. **

As you can imagine I was a nervous wreck going to school today. Somehow, someone had figured out that I was Sailor Saturn, and by default he or she probably knew the identities of the others as well. The mere thought that I had somehow betrayed everyone's trust in me made me physically ill.

After the phone call yesterday, coming on the heels of my conversation with Yuko, I finally told my parents, Hoshiko, and the others, about all of the calls I had been receiving. I had dismissed them as harmless, but annoying, pranks, but now I knew how totally wrong I had been. I was so upset that I even offered to quit being a Sailor Senshi as a result. Luckily Usagi and the others turned me down flat.

"Look you made a mistake Hotaru, but what's done is done. You can't change that. Request denied." Usagi stated.

"Right, it's finding out whose responsible and putting a stop to them before they do any more damage, that's the most important thing right now." Luna added.

"Not to mention undoing all of the damage they've already caused." Artemis added.

"When did these phone calls start Hotaru?" Ami asked.

"I received the first call two weeks ago on Sunday, right at the beginning of spring break when Hoshiko arrived." I replied.

Hoshiko stared at me in shock and surprise. "You do not think that I had something to do with it?" She exclaimed.

"No, I'm sure you had nothing to do with it Hoshiko." I replied. She smiled in gratitude.

We sat there in silence racking our brains and coming up with nothing. Finally Minako broke the silence. "Look it's getting late and we've got school tomorrow. Besides Hotaru has another chapter of her report to do." We all stared at her in shock. "What? What did I say?"

"Hotaru's report! Of course!" Ami exclaimed.

"You're right Ami!" Setsuna-mama exclaimed. "Minako you're a genius!"

"Huh? I am?" Minako wondered.

"Huh? She is?" Usagi, Makoto, Rei, Artemis, and Haruka-papa exclaimed. Minako just glowered at them.

Michiru-mama just sighed and shook her head. "Isn't it obvious? Someone has managed to get a copy of Hime-chan's unedited report."

"Oh." Usagi, Minako, Rei, Makoto, Artemis, and Haruka-papa replied. I think the rest of them gave up at that point, I know I did.

"How could anyone get a hold of Hotaru's report?" Usagi asked.

"How many copies of your report did you make?" Ami asked.

I sat and thought about it for a moment. "Well there were the disks I gave each of you, but I used the encryption software that Ami gave me to protect each copy. There's only one printed copy that I lent to Hoshiko, and my own copy. That's it." I replied.

"There isn't a copy on your computer's hard drive, is there?" Mamoru asked.

"No, I saved it onto a disk before deleting it from my computer's hard drive." I replied.

"And I did the same with the computer in our study." Setsuna-mama added.

"Do you still have those disks?" Rei asked. We nodded and went to find them. A few minutes later I came back with my copy. Setsuna-mama hadn't returned yet though. I handed my disk to Ami who ran it through her laptop. While she was doing that, Setsuna-mama returned with another CD and a puzzled expression.

"This isn't my handwriting." She stated as she held up the disc. On it was written 'Hotaru's report' and a date. It wasn't her writing or Haruka-papa's or Michiru-mama's for that matter.

After we verified that my copy was okay, we put Setsuna-mama's copy into the computer.

The disc was blank.

"That's impossible!" Setsuna-mama exploded. "I kept that disk in a locked drawer in the study and the four of us have the only keys!" She pulled out a key chain and showed us her key. The three of us did the same.

"Could someone else have gotten into the drawer somehow?" Rei asked.

We sat there pondering her question until Haruka-papa slapped her forehead. "Damn it! Of course! It had to be them!"

"Who?" We all exclaimed. So Haruka-papa told us.

"You're right! It's the only thing that makes sense!" Setsuna-mama said.

"I knew we should have searched them! We shouldn't have even let those two into the house!" Michiru-mama said.

"I can't believe that anyone could stoop that low." Usagi commented, shaking her head sadly.

Michiru-mama frowned slightly and opened her mouth to speak but Setsuna-mama leapt in before Michiru-mama could chastise her. "I know Usagi, I know, but it's a sad fact of life that we have to deal with."

"I know that Setsuna. As the three of you keep telling me, it's not a black and white world out there." Usagi replied sadly. "I sure as hell don't have to like it though."

Michiru-mama's frown turned to a look of surprise then she smiled as she went over and knelt beside Usagi and took her by the hand. "No, I guess you don't, but you have to work at it to make the world a better place for everyone. Even if it takes one person, one heart at a time then that's what it takes to make a difference."

Usagi smiled at Michiru-mama. "Yes it does, thank you Michiru. Now let's figure out what to do about our little troublemakers. And help out Hotaru as well of course." She turned and smiled at me. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm so lucky to have friends like her.

"That's the spirit! Anyone have any ideas?" Setsuna-mama asked.

"Go over to their house, get the disk back, and beat the crap out of them." Makoto replied bluntly, cracking her knuckles.

"I'm all for it!" Haruka-papa put in.

Michiru-mama sighed. "I think she meant something a little less violent. Not to mention something that would make sure that our identities don't get exposed." Both Haruka-papa and Makoto looked disappointed.

"Actually, I have an idea or two." Ami stated.

"Let's hear them Ami." Usagi replied. Ami smiled and began outlining our plan…

That was last night, but today I was a bit nervous going to school. I walked along feeling as though everybody's eyes were on me, probing me, watching my every move. I was going to have to do one heck of an acting job to get through the day I thought.

Actually, in that regard I got pretty lucky that today was actually a pretty uneventful day at school. Nothing totally weird happened during school at all, except for the fact that Katsuji didn't join me at lunchtime like he usually did, which was odd. I figured he must have been busy in one of his classes. I missed his company but I wasn't worried. Still I would have liked the opportunity to ask him about why he was so concerned over Megumi and Keiko.

By the time school let out I was fairly relieved that nothing major had happened. Kimyo was walking beside me looking concerned as we got on the bus.

"Are you okay Hotaru? You've been pretty worried about something all day. I hope nothing's wrong at home." Kimyo said.

"No, everything's fine at home. We're just getting ready to see Hoshiko off since she was going home tomorrow." I replied.

"She's going home tomorrow?" Kimyo exclaimed.

"Yeah, we've got a little farewell party planned for tomorrow. You and your Mom are invited too." I replied.

"Thanks Hotaru, I'll tell Mom when I get home." As she spoke we pulled up to her stop. "I'll call you later Hotaru, bye!" She hopped off the bus and headed for her home and I went on to my stop.

"Mama, Hoshiko! I'm home!" I called out. Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama were out getting groceries leaving Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko at home.

"Hello Hotaru. How was your day?" Hoshiko asked as she walked up. She had an armload of clothes with her that she'd just pulled out of the drier. She'd be taking a few things with her as souvenirs, the rest we would be putting into storage or possibly giving to charity.

"It was okay, I guess." I replied. I was still apprehensive about someone finding out about us and I guess it showed. Hoshiko put down her bundle into a nearby chair and walked over to hug me.

"Don't worry Hotaru I'm sure everything will work out. I have a lot of faith in you and the others." She assured me.

"Thanks Hoshiko." I said. Then it registered with my brain what she'd just said. "Hey, you finally used a contraction."

She smiled gratefully. "Yes, Setsuna has been coaching me a bit while we did some laundry."

"It's a start anyway." I told her. I heard the phone ring and Setsuna-mama got to it in the kitchen before I could get it.

"Hello? Oh hi! Just a moment I'll ask." Setsuna-mama poked her head into the room. "Hotaru, did Kimyo come home with you?"

"No, she got off at the stop near her place. Why? Isn't she home yet?" I asked. Hoshiko looked worried as well.

"No she hasn't made it home yet. Her Mom was going to go out and look for her." Setsuna-mama replied.

"We'll help as well!" I announced. Hoshiko nodded in agreement.

"We're on our way over now." Setsuna-mama assured her. We grabbed our jackets and car keys and were heading for the garage when the doorbell started ringing. Whomever it was very persistent as well.

"You two head for the van while I get rid of whoever it is." Setsuna-mama stated. Hoshiko and I nodded and headed for the garage but were stopped when Setsuna-mama exclaimed; 'What the hell?"

"What is it Setsuna?" Hoshiko asked as we ran up to the door. I saw a girl run around the corner as we got to the door.

"Kids these days…hey! What's that?" Setsuna-mama exclaimed as she bent down to pick up something that was on the doorstep. It was a letter. "Hotaru? Isn't this Kimyo's necklace?" Wrapped around the letter was the gold chain with a star at the end that Kimyo wore. Worse still, my planetary symbol was on the letter.

"Oh no. Oh please no." I whispered as Setsuna-mama opened the letter. "Is it about Kimyo?" I asked fearfully.

"I'm afraid so Hime-chan." Setsuna-mama replied softly as she handed me the letter. My hands were shaking as I read it.

_**Sailor Saturn/Hotaru Tomoe:**_

_**We have your friend Kimyo. If you want her back, and if you want your secret to remain a secret, you will come alone to the following address by midnight exactly!**_

The address was someplace in the warehouse district. There was also a postscript.

_**Do as we say or your friend will pay the price!**_

"I'll kill them." I whispered as I crumpled up the note and tried to throw it away but Setsuna-mama grabbed me by the arm.

"You will do no such thing young lady!" She admonished. "I will not let you throw your life away because of those two! I absolutely forbid it!"

"She is right little one. Revenge solves absolutely nothing, believe me I know." Hoshiko said as she put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at them, then down at the floor in shame.

"You're both right. I'm so sorry." I said.

"That's okay Hime-chan. We don't want you running off alone without a plan." Setsuna-mama said. Hoshiko nodded in agreement. I smiled and nodded in agreement as well.

"We'll figure out a way to save Kimyo." Setsuna-mama promised. "Ami called an hour ago saying that she's figured out a way to make sure that our identities remain safe as well."

"Good, then let's get everyone here then so we can plan our next move." I said. Setsuna-mama nodded and reached for her communicator.

_**2350 hrs, the warehouse district. **_

Several hours of planning and having dinner later, I found myself outside the warehouse in question feeling more than a little apprehensive. I felt as though the fate of the world, or at least our destiny, would be decided by what happened here tonight. It was a heavy burden for me to carry I can assure you.

"Radio check." Ami's voice called into the earpiece I wore. One of Ami's new innovations; throat-mikes and small earphones for our communicators that would make communicating during battles a bit easier, at least that was the idea.

"I read you Mercury." I replied nervously.

"You'll be fine Saturn. Just take a few deep breaths and focus." Luna said.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one going into the warehouse first." I whispered back.

"We know that, but we'll sneak in and cut off any means of escape and leap in when you give the word." Makoto replied.

"Just try not to worry, okay sweetheart?" Michiru-mama added.

"Okay Mama, everyone, thanks. I'm moving in now, Saturn out." I said as I made my way towards the door. I saw two cars and a van parked outside. Our plan was fairly simple; I'd go into the warehouse and stall our adversaries long enough for the others to move in and for Ami to work her magic on her computer. She reasoned that they would be sending out our secret identities over the internet so she would tap into the building's phone lines and scramble their connection. On top of that she would send a rather nasty virus into their computer which would wipe their computer's hard drive, and any evidence away. All I had to do was buy her the time she needed, simple right? And if you believe that, I have this bridge that I'm selling…

I went up to the door and rang the buzzer at precisely midnight as the note instructed. Several seconds later I noticed a camera swivel in my direction, and soon after that a buzzer sounded and the door unlocked allowing me access. I took a deep breath to steel myself and went inside.

"Glad to see that you're on time Sailor Saturn, or do you prefer Hotaru Tomoe?" A voice I knew and loathed called out through the loudspeaker. The warehouse was full of cargo containers and poorly lit save for a set of lights that marked a trail to the opposite end of the warehouse. I could feel my pulse quicken as I gripped my Silence Glaive tighter.

"I'm in no mood for games right now." I shouted back. "Show yourselves!"

"Now, now, let's not be too hasty. Remember that we hold all the cards Tomoe. Now follow the lights to the rear of the building." The voice ordered. I was seething now as I walked down the path between several cargo containers, wary of anyone trying to attack me. Part of me hoped that they would try something so I'd have the excuse to take them out once and for all. Only the thought of harming Kimyo prevented me from doing just that. Well, that and what Setsuna-mama and Hoshiko told me earlier.

I made my way down the path until I reached a clearing at the rear of the row of containers and stopped dead at the sight in front of me. There was a long table with a laptop computer sitting on top and Keiko sitting behind the desk looking insufferably smug. Megumi was standing in front of the table with a cat-got-the-canary grin on her face as she placed a microphone down next to an amplifier. Kimyo was tied to an armchair next to her. She was gagged and awake and she started to struggle a bit as I approached. I looked at her closer in the dim light and saw that she'd been roughed up a bit. Her left eye was nearly swollen shut and I could see several cuts on her face.

"Don't be shy Tomoe, you can come closer. We're all friends here." Keiko taunted. Kimyo struggled with her bonds and started to shake her head violently.

"Gladly." I snarled and stepped into the clearing, my Glaive poised to strike. As I did so a pair of powerful hands grabbed my right arm in a vice-like grip that made me wince, while another pair prevented me from swinging my Glaive around. Aya and Rumi, the lapdogs.

"What zoo did you two come from?" I asked, trying to appear nonchalant. Rumi snarled and held my arm as she raised her fist to strike, while Aya stood back and watched with a grin on her face.

"That's enough!" Megumi barked. "Don't let her goad you. Besides there will be plenty of time for that later. Now bring your little toy here and place it on the table. We wouldn't want you getting any ideas now, would we?" She sneered as I placed my Glaive on the table beside her, keeping a wary eye on her and Keiko. The lapdogs pulled me away from the table after I'd done what I was told.

"You don't need to hold onto her, she's pretty useless without her Glaive. Isn't that right?" Keiko sneered. _That's what you think. _But Rumi released my arm and I stood there rubbing it to get my circulation back.

"Well I'm here, what do you want?" I growled. Kimyo stopped struggling and slumped down in her chair, defeated.

Megumi smiled and walked up to me. "Oh I can think of a few things you can do. Most of them you'll find extremely unpleasant. Some will be downright embarrassing even. You are going to convince your parents and your friends to work for us, doing a few 'favors' as it were."

"What kind of 'favors'?" I asked.

"Oh nothing much, a few bank robberies, some jewel heists, some other stuff. Your friend, oh what was her name, Ami? She's pretty smart by all accounts. I'm sure that she could be convinced to do a little hacking on our behalf. Oh and your 'Haruka-papa'? Getting her to throw the odd race now and then while we bet on her competitors would be a start. The possibilities are endless."

_In your dreams you cow! _I thought to myself, but I would play my part. "And what do we get out of this?" I asked.

"Well, I imagine that the 'good' names of the Sailor Senshi will be ruined because of this even if we don't release the information." Keiko chortled. "And after all of you are caught and arrested we'll release your names anyway. You'll spend the next several years in prison knowing that it was all your fault!"

"Your family and friends will hate you forever! Well at least as long as a whiny loser like you will last in jail anyway." Megumi laughed. Kimyo was crying now, which made me even angrier.

"My God Megumi, that's going too far! I never agreed to this!" A voice said from the darkness. I whirled around as Katsuji stepped out from behind a container.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I blurted. "What do you mean you never agreed to this?"

"Um well…" Katsuji began but Megumi and Keiko laughed.

"Aw, how sad. The poor little girl just got screwed over by her 'boyfriend." Keiko mocked.

"I could just cry." Megumi added. Both Rumi and Aya snickered as I stared at Katsuji in shock. Kimyo was glaring at him as well.

Katsuji stood there fidgeting while he struggled to say something. "I don't know how to say this but…"

"Oh don't be so coy Katsuji dear." Megumi purred as she went up and put her arms around him. "Tell her the truth."

"You mean that you and…that…that…_thing! _You're her…?" I stammered feeling suddenly very nauseous. Megumi snarled as she ran up and slapped me.

"You dyke! You'll pay for that!" Megumi screamed as cocked her fist back but Katsuji caught her arm.

"No it's not like that at all!" Katsuji shouted. "Megumi is my half-sister!" Megumi growled, tore her self free, and stomped back over beside the table and glowered at us.

"Half-sister!" I shouted. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or violently ill. I settled for righteous indignation. "So what, did she put you up to being friends with me and us having lunch together? All of that?"

"At first, yes." He admitted. I was ready to pound him into the floor, but I was waiting for the others to get into position. "She convinced me to try to gain your confidence and become your friend so I could find out more information about you and your family. But then as I got to know you better I couldn't bring myself to carry through the rest of Megumi's plan."

"What was that?" I asked softly, tears in my eyes.

"She wanted me to seduce you." He replied. My blood ran cold. I could hear a squawk in my earpiece and I could imagine the others were restraining Haruka-papa right now.

"What stopped you?" I asked. I began to grow hopeful that he wasn't as bad as his sister was after all.

Katsuji came up to me and cupped my chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted my eyes to meet his. We stood there gazing into each others eyes as he leaned closer to me. He took a deep breath and said; "What stopped me was the fact that I really do care for you a lot Hotaru and I can't bear to see you get hurt."

"What!" Megumi and Keiko squawked. It was nice to see that the shoe was on the other foot for a change.

"But why are you doing this for them?" I asked, hoping that things would work out after all.

"Because they are blackmailing me like they are trying to do to you." Katsuji confessed with his head bowed in shame. "They found out that I slept with another classmate and she got pregnant. Our parents used their influence to cover it up and force her and her family to move out of Tokyo, but these two cows won't let it go!" He whirled on Keiko and Megumi angrily who just stared at him in shock. "I loved her and they won't let me know where she and my child are unless I perform for them. Well no more! I have had enough!"

"You'll pay for that, both of you!" Megumi shrieked. She tried to grab my glaive to use it on us but she found that she couldn't lift it. I grinned, I love magic.

"What's the matter? Can't budge my 'little toy'?" I taunted.

"Get them!" Keiko shouted at Rumi and Aya who started to charge at Katsuji and me.

"I don't think so! Now everyone!" I shouted.

"Right Sailor Saturn!" Usagi called out. Then all the lights came on at once blinding us. I blinked a few times and saw that Minako, Michiru-mama, Setsuna-mama, and Haruka-papa had blocked the terrible trio's exit while Rei pointed a Flame Sniper at Aya's head and Rumi turned around to find Makoto standing there.

"_You little bitch!" _ Megumi screamed as she reached for another weapon, a knife. As she did so, a rose landed in between her outstretched fingers and she pulled her hand back quickly. I didn't need to turn to see that Mamoru and Usagi were standing on top of the container behind me.

"You people!" Usagi began. "You would try to shatter a poor girl's heart and use her for your own selfish gain! I am Sailor Moon and I will not stand for it! In the name of the moon, you will be punished!"

Keiko laughed as she lunged for the computer. "You haven't won yet! We can still expose you to the world! Say hello to CNN for us!" She reached the laptop and pressed the button to activate her Internet connection.

"What the hell?" She exclaimed. She had turned the screen around so we could witness her triumph and instead of Microsoft Outlook popping up, she got the image of a white-gloved hand with the middle finger extended (Haruka-papa's idea no doubt) superimposed over a golden crescent moon. On the bottom of the screen were the words; **'SCREW YOU. YOU LOSE.' **Then the computer went black. Keiko stabbed frantically at the buttons to no avail. She screamed and threw the computer across the room and collapsed to the floor with a sob.

"It's over Megumi. We've wiped your computers files, and with the nice confession we recorded I don't think your Daddy's high-priced lawyers can help you wriggle your way out of kidnapping and extortion charges." Ami said as she walked in with Luna and Artemis in tow. She held up a tape recorder for all to see. Megumi whirled around and looked at me as I tapped the microphone I wore.

"**No! NOOOO!" **She screamed as she ran away from us, shoving Ami and Setsuna-mama aside and running down the aisle before we could stop her. She tore down the aisle towards the exit, the rest of us in hot pursuit. She was nearly at the exit when Hoshiko, in full armor, stepped in her path. Megumi skidded to a halt at Hoshiko's feet and stared up at her in fear. Hoshiko makes for a very scary sight indeed when she is in her gear and glaring at you with a mixture of fury and contempt like she was glaring at Megumi. The sword helps a bit too.

"Who are you?" Megumi cried as she tried to back away.

"Who am I?" Hoshiko growled. "Pathetic creature! I am Sailor Galaxia, the most powerful of all of the Sailor Senshi! I am here to pass judgment upon you, and my judgment is that you must die!" With that Hoshiko raised her sword above her head causing Megumi to scream and run back towards us.

"Run coward!" Hoshiko called. "You shall not escape my wrath!"

"Don't let her get me!" Megumi cried as she threw herself at Usagi's feet groveling for the mercy she didn't deserve.

"Okay I think she's seen the error of her ways now." Usagi called to Hoshiko. Hoshiko looked a bit miffed as she sheathed her sword. I nudged her as she went past.

"Hoshiko, don't you think that you went a little over the top there?" I whispered.

She looked at me in surprise. "What do you mean by that?" She asked. I sighed. I give up, she's hopeless. I turned back to the others as the terrible trio was being guarded, while the lapdogs were tied up and secured in an office. Michiru-mama had released Kimyo and Ami was looking after her while we pondered what to do with them. A quick search of the laptop bag revealed my report disc which I gratefully took back. I would destroy it later.

"Are there any more copies?" Setsuna-mama demanded.

"Megumi and I each have a copy at home on our computers. Those are all the copies we made, I swear it." Keiko replied. All the fight had gone out of the three of them and they looked worried as well they should.

"Are you going to kill us now?" Katsuji asked. Megumi just sat there and whimpered, casting the odd nervous look at Hoshiko.

"No, we are not going to kill you." Usagi declared. Haruka-papa just snorted and shook her head. "But we are going to erase your memories of our identities, and if you are willing, I will try to cure you of your evil impulses." She added the last part with a smile. Usagi sees the good in everyone, and she is always trying to help people no matter what. Despite everything they've done, she would help Megumi, Keiko, and Katsuji even if the rest of us felt that they didn't deserve it.

"But after this, you will go far away and never come back. Is that clear?" Usagi added.

"We understand we'll do anything you ask." Katsuji spoke for the three of them. Usagi smiled and drew out her crystal to begin the purification process.

Meanwhile, I went over to see how Kimyo was doing. It looked like Aya and Rumi had treated her badly, but she was smiling as I came up. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like I was used as a punching bag." Kimyo replied honestly. "Oh man, Mom must be going out of her mind now!"

"Don't worry, she's safe. We left her with Usagi's family while we came to rescue you." I replied. She looked over and saw Usagi using her crystal and nodded. Then she staggered a bit, her injuries were taking their toll. "Let me help you." I said as I started healing her injuries. Within minutes her cuts and bruises were gone.

"Whoa, that is amazing! You really are Sailor Saturn!" She exclaimed. "And the others…"

"Are really the Sailor Senshi, yes." There was no use denying the truth, she'd seen and heard enough over the last few hours.

"I don't know what to say." Kimyo said.

"Well as long as you don't say anything to anyone about this that'll be all right." I replied.

Kimyo smiled and nodded. "Hotaru, you have my word; I will never tell anyone that you and your family are the Sailor Senshi. This I swear." She looked at me hopefully. "Can I at least tell my Mom? We don't keep secrets between us you know."

I smiled. "I know. Well I guess its okay, as long as she doesn't tell anyone else."

"She won't. She'd sooner jump in front of a bus than rat on a friend." Kimyo replied.

"I hope it doesn't come to that." I said.

"I hope so too Hotaru." Then she grinned as she threw her arms around me. "My best friend is a super hero! That is so cool!" I laughed and hugged her back as the rest of my family joined us.

"We won't need to do anything with her will we?" Rei asked.

"No we can trust her." I replied. Kimyo grinned at me.

"Hey I was right! You do make a cute couple." Haruka-papa said with a huge grin.

"PAPA!" I shouted as Kimyo and I turned beet red and quickly broke apart. Everybody laughed. The whole ordeal was nearly over and we could finally relax.

Well almost over, I saw Katsuji sitting down on a crate with his head bowed in shame and I went over to him. "Are you okay?" I asked.

He smiled a bit and invited me to sit beside him. "Yeah I'll be okay, now that it's all over." He sat there wringing his hands nervously for a moment before speaking again. "I'm really sorry for all that's happened Hotaru. I hope I can make it up to you somehow."

I took one of his hands in mine. "If you're still willing to be my friend, that's okay with me." I replied with a smile of my own. I could see Usagi giving me a thumbs-up and a smile of approval.

"Do you really mean that?" He asked, looking like a drowning person who's just been thrown a life preserver.

"Yeah I do. But you'll have to have some of your memories erased, like the parts about our identities. It's for your protection as well as ours."

Katsuji nodded. "I understand, and I'm willing to do what you ask." He smiled and extended his hand and I shook it. "Just as long as we can still have our daily lunches together at school."

I laughed. "Sure, no problem. And Katsuji? I really hope that you find her and your child."

He smiled even more warmly. "I hope so too Hotaru, and thank you for being my friend." We hugged each other briefly before he went over to stand before Usagi and the others. Along the way Haruka-papa blocked his path and glowered at him. Katsuji gulped nervously as he looked up at her and then extended his hand. She glared at him for a moment before taking it, a slight smile playing across her face as she began to squeeze his hand in a firm grip. I could hear the bones squeezing from where I stood. To his credit he looked uncomfortable but didn't pass out. Finally Haruka-papa let go and he staggered over to Usagi aided by a pat on the back that nearly sent him flying across the room. That's my Papa for you.

"What about them?" Kimyo asked, indicating Megumi and company.

"Hopefully we've managed to erase the knowledge of our identities from their memories and we've gotten the disk back. It's now a matter of making sure that we've gotten all of the information. Ami is sending a program to their home computers that will wipe out all traces of the information they have on us." Luna replied.

"We'll have to make sure that their families don't know about us, not to mention making sure that they all leave town. But we can manage." Artemis added.

Kimyo stared at them. "Those cats talked!" She blurted. Both Luna and Artemis looked a tad miffed and I laughed as I introduced them. They didn't take offense and Kimyo was happy to make their acquaintance.

"Well all's well that end's well." Minako commented as we wrapped up. Megumi and co had been sent on their way and our secrets would remain secrets. It was just a matter of getting Kimyo reunited with her Mom and everyone home to bed now.

"I don't believe it! She got a proverb right!" Makoto exclaimed.

"It must be a sign of the apocalypse!" Rei added.

"Oh shut up." Minako growled before breaking into a giggling fit. We went our separate ways at this point.

"You and your Mom are welcome to come over to Rei's for Hoshiko's farewell party." Michiru-mama said to Kimyo.

"Thank you Miss Kaioh, I appreciate that. We'll be there." Kimyo replied as we pulled up in front of her home. We had called Usagi's parents and Mr. Tsukino had driven Mrs. Hoshi home. She was standing on her doorstep looking anxious. "Good night everyone!" She called as she jumped out of the van and ran into her Mom's arms. We watched as they were happily reunited once more, then we waved and went home, a good night's work after all. I let that thought comfort me as I wrote this up before going to bed. Tomorrow we would be saying farewell to a dear friend.

AN: Okay, I've revised this chapter a bit, and I am working on the final chapter now. Hopefully everyone will like this a bit better.


	15. Chapter 15

**Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe. **

**Chapter Fifteen: Saturday II. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the Sailor Moon characters.**

Today was the day I hadn't been looking forward to; the day Hoshiko would be leaving us and returning to the stars.

I was feeling some rather mixed emotions as I got up this morning. One the one hand Keiko and Megumi had been dealt with and our secrets were safe again, for the moment. Maybe we'd reveal our identity to everyone one day but now wasn't the time. Katsuji was at home resting. He'd be waking up soon to find an email from a friend with a possible location of his girlfriend and child. I hoped everything worked out between them.

On the other hand I was sad because Hoshiko was leaving us, possibly for good. In the short time she'd been here she's become part of our little family and it hurt to see her go. I put those thoughts aside as I got ready for the gathering at Rei's temple.

"Good morning Hime-chan, did you sleep well last night?" Michiru-mama asked when I came downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning Mama. I slept as well as could be expected I guess." I replied as I sat down at the table for breakfast. Michiru-mama heard the note of sadness in my voice and she came over and hugged me reassuringly.

"We'll all miss her." She said as she kissed me on the top of my head. I took her hand and we sat there like that for a few seconds until I felt another hand squeeze mine. I didn't have to look up to see that it was Haruka-papa.

"She'll be back home again soon, don't worry Firefly." Haruka-papa assured me.

"Thank you Papa, Mama. I know she will." I replied. Haruka-papa kissed me as well and soon Setsuna-mama was there as well.

"If you've learned anything over the last two weeks Hotaru, it's that faith manages. If we keep her in our hearts, she'll be back." Setsuna-mama stated as she put her hand on mine. We sat there huddled together for a few more seconds and then a flashbulb went off in our faces startling us.

"I am sorry. I just wanted to record this moment with this device." Hoshiko said as she fussed with the digital camera we were giving her as one of several going away presents. She was wearing the simple blue dress that she had arrived in and a large travel bag waited by the kitchen door.

"No apologies are necessary Hoshiko." Michiru-mama replied as she smiled at the rest of us. "Let's move into a different position so she can get a better shot okay?" We nodded and shuffled around a bit until we weren't all hunched over. Hoshiko smiled and took a second picture.

"Much better, thank you all." Hoshiko smiled then a look of alarm flashed over her face. "Michiru!" She cried as she pointed at the stove.

"Oh no! My crepes!" Michiru-mama exclaimed as she ran over to the stove and the burning mess that used to be crepes. She quickly grabbed a towel before grabbing the handle of the frying pan and ran over to the sink. Soon the crisis was over.

"Damn it!" She fumed as she scraped the burnt mess into the trash. Tears of anger and frustration welled up in her eyes as she cleaned up.

"Don't worry Michi we'll just have to do with cold cereal and toast today." Haruka-papa said as she put her hand on Michiru-mama's shoulder.

"But I wanted to make something special for Hoshiko's last breakfast with us!" Michiru-mama cried. Hoshiko just smiled and took her by the hand.

"Michiru, every breakfast with you, Haruka, Setsuna, and Hotaru over the last several days has been special to me. You have all made me feel like a part of a family again, a feeling I have not, forgive me, _haven't _had in a long time. (At least she was still trying to use contractions.) Every meal with you, every moment spent with you, will be with me forever. And it doesn't matter what we eat as long as we eat together. So I don't care if we have scrambled eggs, or pancakes, or crepes, or even…" She reached out and picked up a box of cereal that I had placed on the table. "Fruit Loops?" She shrugged and put the box down. "As long as we are enjoying breakfast _together_ that is the important thing."

Michiru-mama stared at her for a moment before sighing in resignation. "Fine, pass the Corn Flakes then." But she did smile gratefully at Hoshiko as she did so. The rest of us grinned and dug in and soon everything was back to normal.

After breakfast we helped Hoshiko pack up the rest of her clothes that we had bought her and stored them away. Then we got ready to head over to Rei's home. We took a few more pictures of us in front of our home and we were on our way.

Grandpa Hino greeted each of us in his usual manner by asking if we would like to be his shrine maidens. We laughed at the sight of poor Hoshiko turning bright red as Grandpa seemed especially taken with her. Rei came along and chased off Grandpa before she could commit to anything like his marriage proposals.

"I'm sorry about that." Rei apologized to a furiously blushing Hoshiko. "He can be a handful at times."

"That's all right I understand. I had a Great Uncle who was the same way, although he wasn't quite as aggressive." Hoshiko replied. ". Mind you he was married to my Great Aunt for over fifty Earth years which may have helped." Rei laughed and lead the way onto the temple grounds.

Everyone was there to greet us as we arrived. Usagi, who was actually early much to our surprise, was there with Luna and Mamoru. Ami and her Mom were there as well. Minako and Artemis were there too helping Makoto making sure the food was ready. Kimyo and her Mom were there too, much to my relief. Mrs. Hoshi looked a little shocked and I guessed that Kimyo had told her everything. She promised that she would keep our secret safe.

Hoshiko was overwhelmed at the huge show of support she was receiving and wept openly when everyone came up and hugged her, each giving her a small gift and some words of encouragement for her journey. We took pictures of everyone with Hoshiko and Ami's Mom took a big picture of all of us together save Kimyo and her Mom.

We talked and laughed and danced and such until it was well into the evening. Kimyo and her Mom had gone home earlier as they were going over to Kimyo's Grandparent's home tomorrow, while Ami's Mom had to leave suddenly because of an emergency at the hospital leaving just us Senshi, which was appropriate.

With great reluctance we turned off the music and slowly made our way to the center of the temple grounds and formed a semi-circle around Hoshiko. Hoshiko smiled at us and changed into her armor. Sensing that the occasion called for it, we each changed into our own Senshi uniforms while Usagi changed into her Princess Serenity form and Mamoru into his Prince Endymion form. Hoshiko smiled warmly at us and took a deep breath before speaking.

"My dear friends, mere words cannot express the gratitude and affection I have for all of you that I am feeling right now. When I arrived here on Earth a short time ago, part of me feared that I would not be welcomed given our past. I worried that you would even attack me given what happened before. But I was wrong. Instead you, albeit with some reluctance in a few cases…" We laughed as she looked at a slightly embarrassed Haruka-papa at this point. "You welcomed me with open arms into your lives and homes and for that alone I shall be eternally grateful."

Hoshiko walked over to Usagi and Mamoru and took one of each of their hands and clasped them together between hers. "Usagi and Mamoru; the two of you have proven time and time again that love can indeed overcome all obstacles. Your love binds the two of you together and gives you strength and inspires others. It is my hope that the two of you will continue to love each other and inspire others to make this world a better place."

"Thank you Hoshiko." Mamoru replied for the two of them as Usagi was too overcome to speak properly as she hugged Hoshiko. Hoshiko embraced both of them and then gave Luna a gentle scratch behind the ears.

"Look after them Luna." Hoshiko said softly.

"Someone has to, Usagi can barely tie her own shoes much less govern a world." Luna quipped causing Hoshiko to laugh.

"_Luna!_ Why you…ooh!" Usagi fumed before she stopped herself and gave her guardian a quick peck on the cheek. Then she and Hoshiko embraced one another. "Safe journey my dear friend."

Hoshiko moved over to where Rei, Ami, Makoto, Minako, and Artemis stood. "My dear friends, over the last several days you showed me that you are more than willing to put your personal problems aside and help each another when you are needed the most. My wish for you is that you continue to help and support each other along with everyone else." They smiled as one by one they hugged Hoshiko and gave her their words of encouragement.

"Thank you Hoshiko." Rei replied. "May the spirits watch over you and guide you in your journey."

"Thank you so much and don't forget that we're here if you need us." Ami said.

"Thanks Hoshiko, and if you ever need help in a big scrap, come look me up okay?" Makoto stated.

"Thanks Hoshi! 'Live long and procreate' okay?" Minako added, causing Hoshiko to blush fiercely.

"That's 'Live long and _prosper' _Mina!" Artemis sighed.

"Yeah, that too!" Minako replied. Artemis gave Hoshiko a long suffering look. Hoshiko chuckled and scratched him under the chin.

"Keep them out of trouble, okay?" Hoshiko asked. Artemis smiled and nodded. Hoshiko smiled and moved over to Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa, and Setsuna-mama.

"Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna, despite everything that has passed between us you accepted that I had indeed changed and welcomed me into your home and lives without reservation. Well, almost without reservation." Haruka-papa looked a little sheepish but smiled anyway. Hoshiko continued; 'You showed me what the true meaning of family is and I will be forever grateful. My wish for you is that you stay together forever as one happy family."

"We will. Thank you Hoshiko." Michiru-mama said.

"Thanks Hoshi, and what Makoto said? Well that goes double for me." Haruka-papa added with a grin.

"Good luck my friend, and please remember that you are always welcome here." Setsuna-mama said.

"You're welcome my friends. Oh, and before I forget…" Hoshiko smiled coyly as she leaned over to whisper something in Haruka-papa's ear. I'm not sure what she said, but I've never seen Haruka-papa blush like that before! Michiru-mama and Setsuna-mama howled with laughter while Hoshiko came over to me.

I tried to smile reassuringly but instead I just stood there staring at the ground, tears stinging my eyes. I felt as though another person I cared for was leaving me for good and I was miserable. I felt Hoshiko's gentle touch on my face and I looked up to see her smiling through tears of her own.

"Hotaru, don't be sad. I'm not leaving forever. I will return one day. And when I do I will need you again. I will need you to help guide me once again around this wonderful world of yours." She smiled as she reached into her bag and produced the books I had given her for her journey, _Sherlock Holmes:_ _The Complete Novels and Stories. _"As Mr. Holmes himself put it so aptly 'I am lost without my Boswell'."

I was at a complete loss for words at that moment as I stared into her smiling face. No words were needed as she opened her arms as I reached out and hugged her as tightly as possible, not wanting to let her go. Both of us were crying as we held one another.

"Thank you so much Hoshiko. Please come back, come _home_ again soon."

"I will little one. I will come back home soon, I promise you." She replied as she kissed me lightly on the cheek.

Finally though I had to let her go and face her destiny. Hoshiko stood and walked into the center of our circle. She smiled as turned in a slow circle, looking at our faces one last time.

"Farewell my friends, we shall see each other again soon." And with that, there was a bright flash of light and Hoshiko returned to the stars once more.

We stood around silently, wondering what to say or do next. All of us had tears in our eyes as we saw a bright beam of golden light slowly disappear into the heavens. Finally Usagi let out a mournful sigh and changed back into her normal self, the rest of us following suit.

"I'm already missing her." Michiru-mama commented softly.

"We all are." Mamoru assured her.

"Any idea how long until she comes back?" Makoto asked.

"No idea." Rei replied.

"Hoshiko and I talked about it the other day. She figured that she might be able to return the remaining Star Seeds to their homes in about five years." Setsuna-mama said.

"That seems to be an awfully long time for someone to be out there all alone." I said sadly.

"But we've given her a reason to finish her duty soon. We've given her a home and a family again. And most of all we've given her hope." Usagi assured me as she placed a hand on my shoulder. I smiled at her, she was right. I knew then that Hoshiko would return again, one day. I looked back up at the stars again.

"Safe journey Hoshiko."

A voice spoke to me in my mind causing me to smile; '_Do not worry little one, I will be back before you know it.' _

"You okay kiddo?" Haruka-papa asked. "You kind of zoned out there for a moment."

"I'm okay Papa. Let's go home okay?" I replied. Haruka-papa smiled and nodded in agreement as we said our farewells and headed home.

Once we got home, we sat down together in our living room in silence. "I'm not particularly feeling like going to bed right now. Does anyone else want to watch a movie, or play a game, or something?" Setsuna-mama asked.

"Sure, I'm not feeling tired either." Michiru-mama replied. Haruka-papa nodded. "Any ideas?"

"I have one. Why don't we read a story together like we used to?" I asked.

Haruka-papa smiled as she reached for a particular book. "Sounds like fun. And I think I have the appropriate book right here." She showed us the cover and we all smiled.

"Why don't you start us off Hime-chan?" Michiru-mama asked as we huddled together on the sofa.

"Okay Mama." I replied. I sat in Haruka-papa's lap while Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama curled up on either side of us. I opened up the book and began reading.

"To Mr. Sherlock Holmes she was always _the _woman…"

In conclusion, as you can see I have a rather unique family, wouldn't you agree? But I love all of them to death anyway. Sure we have our ups and downs like everyone else, but what matters in the end is that we are still one big, happy family and that is what truly matters.

End of report.

Author's note: Yes I know it took me forever to finish this, and I am sorry. But despite everything I hope you enjoyed it.

I don't think I'll be doing another story like this anytime soon, as I would like to work on a few of my other stories. Hooky is tied into this story a bit, and an upcoming one shot featuring Sailor Lead Crow and Sailor Aluminum Siren will as well.

Will Hoshiko return to Earth? I think so. Hopefully it won't take me five years to write that story either. Until then, keep smiling.

Oh and the passage I quoted is the opening line of the Sherlock Holmes story _A Scandal in Bohemia _in case anyone is wondering.


End file.
